


Broken Wings

by Illeana Starbright (SunlightOnTheWater)



Series: Broken Wings [1]
Category: Arrow (TV 2012), Young Justice (Cartoon)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Gen, Minor Crossover with Arrow, Robin is the mole, Season/Series 01
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-12-28
Updated: 2014-12-31
Packaged: 2018-03-04 01:58:55
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 27
Words: 35,001
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2905133
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SunlightOnTheWater/pseuds/Illeana%20Starbright
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Roy wasn't the mole, Robin was. Now the team struggles to deal with a mind controlled Justice League, The Light, and a struggling clone of the original Boy Wonder. AU from Auld Acquaintances. Imported from FanFiction.net.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Part I, Chapter I

_He woke up alone and afraid. Where was Batman? The last thing he remembered was leaving on his first patrol and now he was here. Robin's eyes snapped snapped open in a blind panic. He was in some kind of giant test tube, his hands cuffed by his sides. His uniform was gone, replaced with white cloth, and although he couldn't tell for sure, he suspected his mask was gone. Panic made his heart try to beat its way out of his chest as he squirmed against the restraints holding him in place._ Be calm brother. _The voice echoing in his head made Robin freeze, eyes darting about in a vain search for the source of the telepathic message._

Where am I? Who are you? _Robin thought, heart racing like a cornered rabbit's. A figure stepped into view. Slim horns rose from a white head, the appendages glowing a deep red color._

You are in Cadmus, _came the calm reply._

How did I get here? _Robin demanded, hands clenching into fists. How come he couldn't remember how he'd ended up in this tube?_

Ah, _the being responded._ I understand the problem. _The creature stepped toward a control panel. Lights turned on with a low hum before falling silent. Robin was about to demand he be given a proper explanation when he saw himself. His double was dressed in the Robin uniform, mask firmly in place. Confusion and fear rushed through the young hero as he watched his peacefully slumbering copy. Someone had cloned him. Were they going to replace him with a clone to harm Batman? He couldn't allow that to happen._ This is the original Robin, _the creature told him,motioning toward the slumbering boy in the Robin uniform._ You are a Cadmus created clone of him. You have been given the majority of his memories which is why you are so disoriented.

_Robin was overwhelmed with horror as he realized he was the plant. He was the copy, not the body asleep across from him._ But why clone him? _he demanded._ What do they want from me?

I am not sure, _the creature replied._ But whatever it was, you do not have to comply. _Footsteps approached and the creature glanced over its shoulder before turning back to the Robin clone._ The masters are coming. When they release you, behave as if you are disoriented. Do not mention this conversation to anyone. _Then the creature's horns stopped glowing and it turned to greet the newcomers. Robin's borrowed memories allowed him to recognize Lex Luthor, Sportsmaster, Ra's al Ghul, Queen Bee, and Vandal Savage from Batman's files but the rest of the names eluded him._

_"Is Project Renegade awake?" a man in a white lab coat who was now standing in the lead demanded of the creature Robin had been communicating with._

_"He has been for several minutes," the creature replied. "Though I would advise using caution if you plan to release him. He appears to be both frightened and disoriented." The man in the lab coat nodded, stepping up to another control panel. He tapped several buttons and Robin's tube let out a low hiss as if depressurizing._

_"Are you sure this is advisable Desmond?" Luthor asked the man in the coat. A woman waited by his shoulder, unnaturally still. The original Robin's memories told him that this was Mercy, Luthor's personal assistant and bodyguard._

_"The clone will not yet be at its full capacity," Desmond replied, hand hovering over another button, probably the one that would release Robin. "His muscles will still need to be trained in order for him to perform as he is accustomed to. This will be perfectly safe." Luthor nodded, apparently satisfied, and Desmond pressed the button. The front of the tube opened and the restraints clicked as they released Robin. He dropped out of the tube, his legs feeling weak and wobbly when he landed on the ground below. (Years later when he would help release Superboy from Cadmus part of him would wonder why Superman's clone wasn't uncertain and shaky on his feet.)_

_Luthor was the first to approach, Mercy at his side. The businessman studied him intently and Robin stared back warily. A slow grin crossed Luthor's face as if he had just been given a gift he had always desired. "Richard Grayson, the little orphan acrobat," Luthor purred. "That means-"_ Don't let him say it, _the original Robin seemed to scream in the clone's head and the clone lashed out. Luthor jerked back, Mercy remaining still as stone, and Robin was forced to flip back clumsily when Sportsmaster advanced. The assassin lashed out at him and Robin ducked, but just barely. His movements weren't as graceful as his memories insisted they should have been but for the first time since he'd been created he actually felt alive. That thought made him stumble and in an instant Sportsmaster had him by the throat._

_"Be careful," Desmond demanded as Robin struggled to free himself from the tight hold. Over the assassin's shoulder, Robin thought he saw Dick Grayson twitch in his tube, a frown temporarily marring his worry-free features before his face smoothed out again. That was strange. "You don't want to permanently damage the clone," Desmond continued. "Our plan doesn't have enough time to grow a new one."_

_"The boy needs to learn his place," the assassin retorted, tightening his grip, and Robin felt himself go limp as he ran out of air._

_"That is why he was pre-programmed," a new voice cut in as Robin's heart beat frantically in his head. Suddenly he was dropped and his body crumpled limply to the floor as he gasped for breath. "And you should have the phrases memorized if you are going to be his handler," Savage finished, dark eyes fixed on the assassin. Sportsmaster nodded sharply once and Savage turned towards Desmond. "How long will the clone take to heal?"_

_Desmond studied Robin for a moment, no doubt taking in the bruises that were blooming on his throat. "No more than twenty-four hours," the scientist said at last. "Then the specialist can ensure he will be trained enough to pass inspection."_

_"You modified his DNA?" Savage's voice was neutral and Desmond began to look nervous._

_"His DNA was combined with that of the specialist," the scientist explained. "It should allow him to heal more quickly and should give him an advantage over the others attempting to draw the attention of the Justice League. I will be able to suppress the more obvious effects before he is sent to Batman."_

_"Will his DNA test results still come out correct?" Savage demanded, voice sharp. Robin pushed himself up and into a defensive stance, feeling as if the walls were suddenly closing in on him. Sportsmaster shot the clone a warning glare but didn't move to stop him. Apparently the assassin had decided that if the DNA test wasn't going to come out correct and Robin was going to be killed then he at least deserved the right to fight for his life. That was strangely reassuring._

_"There may be one or two minor discrepancies but Joker will be giving him back. The clown has assured me that use of several of his gases could easily explain away the small changes," Desmond said in a nervous rush._

_"And the specialist will keep our secret?"_

_"His silence has been bought. We considered eliminating him but decided that ultimately it would draw too much attention from the League if he were to simply disappear."_

_"Very well," Savage approved and Robin let his stance relax a little. "Put him back in the container until he heals. From that point, you have seventy-two hours to get him completely trained and returned to the Bat. We cannot afford to attract the League's attention this early in the game." The man then turned to Sportsmaster. "Be sure the clone is kept under your control."_

_"Not a problem," the assassin replied and Robin got the feeling he was smiling underneath his mask._

_The group left the room and Robin prepared himself as Sportsmaster turned to face him. "I'm not going back in there," he rasped, his throat aching._

_"Too bad you don't have a choice," the assassin replied. "Broken wings." Robin opened his mouth the make some quip about Sportsmaster losing his mind when his whole body suddenly went limp. His eyes closed and his frame crumpled to the floor. He could hear what was going on but he couldn't react to any of it as he was maneuvered back into the tube. Then someone murmured something in his ear and reality simply slipped away._

* * *

Robin felt as if he were slowly coming awake. He was standing in the Watchtower as Vandal Savage stepped on board, the rest of the Justice League bowing before the villain. Slow horror rolled over him in a wave. Roy had been right, there had been a mole. It was him. He backed away from Savage in panic babbling, "What-How- I don't understand."

"Poor child," Savage sneered as Robin's eyes darted around, cataloging the members of the League kneeling. There was only one missing; Roy Harper. Had Robin hurt him? "You're a clone boy, The Light's own personal Justice League member." Robin was shaking all over as Klarion followed Savage into the Watchtower. "You'll remember soon enough."

Robin fell to his knees as Savage and Klarion circled the still members of the Justice League. Things were coming back now,washing him over in the wave. The tube, Cadmus, the brain washing. Sportsmaster had been his handler. And he had never really been Robin, just a cheap copy or the original. A low growl escaped him and he lunged at Vandal, hands clenched into fists. The villain turned and backhanded him hard, sending him tumbling back. Robin landed on his feet and moved to lash out again only to have Sportsmaster appear out of nowhere and strike him hard in the side. Robin stumbled and knew the assassin was smiling underneath his mask. The clone found out why a couple seconds later.

Superman seized Robin from behind and no matter how hard the boy squirmed he couldn't escape. "Deal with him Sportsmaster," Savage said and the assassin nodded. Superman handed over the clone to the assassin and Sportsmaster dragged a still stunned Robin down the hall. It didn't occur to the clone to struggle, to attempt to fight back again, until the door had already shut behind him and he was alone in the hall with the assassin. He still had the utility belt and Robin's free hand snaked inside the piece of equipment to remove some supplies. It was time to fight back and get out of here.

* * *

From the shadows of the hall Roy watched as Sportsmaster pulled Robin towards the containment cells. There was a small part of his brain shrieking in disbelief, insisting that it wasn't possible for Robin to be the mole, but he locked that away. For some reason the small boy hadn't infected Roy with Starro Technology. The former sidekick wasn't about to question his good fortune so now he watched and waited as Robin fought with the assassin. "You aren't going to win this," Sportsmaster taunted Batman's sidekick. "You're just a little bird with broken wings."

Roy watched with wide eyes as Robin just crumpled, toppling to the ground like a broken doll. "Not so tough now, are you boy?" Sportsmaster sneered, kicking the limp child once in the ribs before heading back the way he'd come, probably looking for some way to confine Robin. Roy hesitated for a moment and then slid out of the shadows, drawing Robin down into his hiding spot in the air vents. He barely secured his hiding spot before Sportsmaster returned, the assassin snarling out a curse when he noticed Robin was missing.

Sportsmaster rushed down the hall but Roy knew that soon enough the assassin would come the conclusion that Robin couldn't have run off on his own. He'd also notice that Roy wasn't with the rest of the enslaved Justice League. In fact, it was a miracle that the criminals hadn't torn the Watchtower apart searching for him. "Come on baby bird," Roy hissed desperately trying to rouse the thirteen year old. To his surprise, Robin actually twitched and let out a soft groan. Roy slapped a hand over the boy's mouth and Robin's eyes snapped open wide. The boy squirmed in panic and then went limp when Roy loomed up in his vision. They both held their breath as footsteps stormed past them and then relaxed again when the hall fell silent once more. "What is going on here?" Roy demanded.

"Not here," Robin hissed back. "I'll explain everything but _not here_."

"Fine," Roy growled, already planning their escape. They were going to get out of the Watchtower via the zeta tubes, they were going to fine some place safe to hide, and then he was going to get some answers before the world fell apart any more than it already had.


	2. Part I, Chapter II

_He opened his eyes and found himself in the tube again. He tried to move his arms, to pound against the glass, only to find that they were chained at his sides again. His head thrashed back and forth as he squirmed against the restraints, panic at being confined washing over him. He wasn't sure whether he, the clone, was afraid of being confined or whether Dick Grayson was but that thought didn't matter when he was struggling to breathe through the panic. Beings in other tubes began to thrash and squirm too, alarms suddenly screaming in the formerly silent room. Footsteps pounded through the halls and a frazzled looking Desmond rushed in, a man dressed in armor with some kind of small creature riding on his shoulder right on the scientist's heels._

_"He's waking up all of the subjects," Desmond snarled, frantically tapping buttons as Robin heard something shatter nearby. "Guardian, go take care of any escapees." Despite all Desmond's work the alarms weren't quieting and as Robin strained against the cuffs another tube somewhere shattered. "Damn it all," Desmond growled and Robin would have laughed if he wasn't so terribly frightened. His vision was blurring because he couldn't manage to pull enough air into his lungs._

_A rap on the outside of his tube made him jolt, slamming back against the surface behind him with a breathless whine of terror. "Open his container." The voice wasn't one Robin recognized, which didn't help his panic any._

_"I am not releasing the clone on some kind of whim," Desmond snarled and Robin watched through tear blurred eyes as the figure in front of his tube_ moved _and slammed Desmond against the control panel._

_"Open the container and release my student or I will snap your neck," the figure said, voice low and dark. A moment later he toppled out of his cage and onto the hard lab floor._

* * *

"You had better have a good explanation for this," Roy growled at his thirteen year old companion. They were making their way through the sewers of Gotham after their tussle with the zombified Flash and Green Arrow, Robin promising Roy that the Justice League wouldn't be able to find them down here. The archer wasn't sure he believed the boy he'd once trusted. After all, Robin was the mole.

"I do, at least I think I do," the younger boy replied, stopping and turning back to face Roy. "I'm not the real Robin. I'm a Cadmus designed clone with the real Robin's memories handed off to Batman as the real one after he was captured during his first patrol." Robin wrapped his arms around his stomach and stared down at the grimy ground at their feet, shoulders hunched. Roy stared at him, shocked. The Robin he'd met when the Boy Wonder had just turned ten had been a clone? A cheap copy? Where was the original? Roy felt as if someone had pulled the rug out from under his feet, as if he'd been purposefully betrayed by someone he trusted.

"How long have you planned this?" he demanded, voice sharp. "How long have you been waiting to betray us all?" Robin shrank back from the older boy, shoulders rising up around his ears. He looked as if he expected Roy to hit him.

"I didn't know," Robin whimpered, arms rising up to shield his face. Roy felt sick to his stomach. The Robin he'd known would have been yelling right back at him, not trying to burrow into the slimy sewer wall behind him. The Robin he'd known though, maybe that had been the real Robin's memories and personality superimposed over the clone's actual personality.

"When did you find out?" he asked in a softer tone, hoping maybe the clone would calm down a little and give him some actual answers.

"After I'd already infected the Justice League," the clone told him, trembling a little. "There was some kind of code word they implanted in my subconscious. I didn't even know what I was doing until it was already done. I didn't even know I wasn't real until I saw Vandal Savage." There were tears dripping down the younger boy's cheeks and it suddenly struck Roy that the child in front of him wasn't really thirteen. If the clone had replaced the real Robin at nine then the clone was maybe four years old and terrified.

"It'll be okay," he told the small boy, not moving any closer in the hope that he wouldn't scare the child off. "We'll figure this out." Tears were dripping down the clone's cheeks and he was staring at Roy with wide eyes.

"What do we do?" The question startled Roy. The archer was used to Robin always knowing what step they needed to take, always having a plan. After knowing the boy for almost four years it was difficult to acknowledge that everything he'd known and loved about Robin was a lie. The clone, the boy behind the facade of Robin, was someone completely different.

"First we find the rest of your team," Roy told him.

"It's not my team. It should have been _Robin's team_ ," the clone replied. "For me it was just another step towards the Justice League. Another step forward for the Light." He looked as if everything he'd known was a lie as well.

"Come on kid," Roy said, slipping a cautious arm around the clone's shoulders. "We have work to do."

* * *

Artemis Crock felt numb as Kaldur broke down the door to Roy Harper's safehouse in Gotham. They'd been searching the city as best they could as soon as Batman had left. None of them could really believe that Robin, the Robin they'd known and loved, had been the mole. He had been giving information to the Light, informing their enemies of their every move. The betrayal hurt, especially to Artemis who had always felt so welcomed by the Boy Wonder. The young boy had known who her father and sister were but had befriended her anyway. Now she knew that was all a lie.

"Red Arrow?" Kaldur's voice was cautiously optimistic and Artemis slipped around M'gann to see Roy standing near the window.

"Aqualad," the archer replied levelly. That was when Artemis saw who was peering out from behind Oliver Queen's previous sidekick. She had her bow out and an arrow knocked before she had even consciously considered her actions. The traitor let out a little frightened squeak and cowered back behind the older boy.

"Artemis, I can explain," Red Arrow said, hands held up to show he wasn't armed.

"What?" the blonde snarled, her grip on the bow tightening. "That you've been in league with the traitor all along? That you've just been waiting for this to happen?"

" _Artemis_ ," M'gann squealed, tears shining in her brown eyes. Artemis knew her own eyes were watering but her aim was steady.

"Artemis put the bow down and I'll explain everything," Roy said.

"Maybe we should talk about this," Kaldur added at the exact same time.

" _I'm a clone!_ " The traitor yelled suddenly and the room fell silent. Robin shrank back toward the wall, shaking a little, as all eyes turned to him. "Cadmus created me using DNA from the real Robin and programmed me to behave certain ways with certain phrases. Sportsmaster was my handler. I didn't realize what I was doing until it was already done." The boy shrank back against the wall near the window as if he wished he could become part of it.

"When did they replace Robin?" Kaldur asked, voice gentle.

"During his first patrol with Batman," the clone told them, looking down at the floor. "I don't remember everything but I do remember waking up in a pod, like the one Superboy was trapped in. That's the only time I saw the real Robin. I'm sorry." He hunched in on himself and Roy wrapped a protective arm around his shoulders, drawing him close.

"How do we know he's not lying?" Artemis demanded, arrow still aimed at the child's heart despite how her hands were trembling.

"Two reasons," Roy told her, slowly sliding the boy behind him. "One, he didn't infect me even though he had the chance, and two, I saw Sportsmaster down him without laying a hand one him just by saying the right words." Artemis studied the other archer for a moment before slowly lowering her weapon. That was when Kaldur's communicator beeped.

"What is it?" the Atlantean asked when he picked up.

"Umm Aqualad," Wally replied, sounding nervous and sheepish all at once. "We may have a slight problem."


	3. Part I, Chapter III

_Robin gasped for breath on his hands and knees on the floor, feeling as if he were going to be sick at any moment. An armored arm wrapped around his middle, holding him steady, while Desmond wheezed against the nearby control panel. "You could have ruined everything," Desmond snarled as the alarms silenced after one last shriek. "The boy could have escaped and ruined all our plans."  
_

_"The boy is not capable of escaping at this time." The voice was a low, dangerous rumble, warning Desmond not to say anything further. Robin was pulled to his feet and braced against cold armor. He didn't recognize the color scheme, black and bronze-orange, which scared him more than he cared to admit. "I will be taking control of the clone until it comes time to take him to the Bat."  
_

_"You aren't the one in charge here," Desmond hissed, face turning an interesting shade of puce. Robin felt himself slumping against the person holding him up, legs still shaking from his panic attack. Desmond looked like he was going to come apart at the seams at any moment. Robin would have laughed it he hadn't thought it would get him hit. Somewhere behind Desmond and to the left, Dick Grayson twitched in his tube, his lips quirking up in a small smile._

_"I was placed in charge of the boy's training and you will let me do my job or I will eliminate you." The voice was pure poison and Robin cringed. Desmond, for his part, lost all color. Even the furious flush that had appeared just moments ago had faded away to nothing. "Am I clear?" The scientist didn't look like he had any strength to respond as the man pulled Robin away. That was the last time he saw Dick_ _Grayson_.

* * *

"So basically Robin's a clone, the entire Justice League are zombies to The Light, and we're all screwed," Wally said cheerfully. The speedster, Conner, and Zatanna had rejoined the others outside of Gotham after spilling the news that Red Tornado was transferred into another, more human, body and they'd captured Black Canary. Now a scientist they'd worked with before was working on a cure for the Starro biotech. "Wait, if you're a clone does that mean you're not really thirteen?"

"I'm not sure this is really the time," Artemis growled in an exasperated tone as Robin tried to process the fact that the speedster evidently didn't hate him.

"But it's a serious question," Wally shot back as Robin contemplated finding a place to hide. When he'd thought he was the real Robin the team had been family. Now he knew he was nothing more than a cheap copy. He wasn't really part of the team, just a stand in for the real thing. A cardboard cutout. He bit down hysterical laughter at that thought and wondered if the bioship would actually let him become a part of it for a while.

"We're in the middle of an invasion," Artemis was snapping at Wally, looking as if she very much wanted to hit the speedster.

"But everyone kept saying he was the youngest person ever inducted in the Justice League since, you know, they didn't know about Captain Marvel, and if Robin's a clone that means what they're saying is really true," Wally chattered so fast that the clone had a little trouble following the sentence.

"I do not believe now is the time," Kaldur interjected gently. "We need to decide how to deal with the current threat. Then we can worry about Robin's real age." The small boy in question cringed back when all eyes settled on him for a moment. Roy shifted protectively in front of him and eyes shifted away slowly.

"If I can suggest a solution," Red Tornado said. "Once the cure is applied I can be returned to my own body. Then Black Canary and myself can infiltrate the infected Justice League. While the two of us distract Savage and Klarion the team will be free to cure the infected." It was a good plan. There was only one problem and he was pressed up against the outside of the bioship trying not to panic. The clone didn't want to go back. Memories of his short time before the team were slowly returning and none of them were good. He had been so scared then. He was still so scared.

"I'll have to come with you," he said, voice cracking slightly. He swallowed and shrank in on himself when all eyes turned towards him. "They'll expect me to come running back to them if for no other reason than because I have no other choice. If I don't they'll be suspicious."

"You don't have to do this Robin," Roy said, eyes fixed on the small boy.

"And you shouldn't be calling me that," the clone replied, locking his emotions away. "I have to do this. There's no other way." And there wasn't really, even if he wished that was a lie.

* * *

Their plan had gone south quickly. Robin should have known that Klarion and Savage would have some way of knowing which League members were infected and which were not. The cure had held up against the second attempt to infect Black Canary and Red Tornado, had prevented Robin from being infected as well, but now they were fighting for their lives and hoping that the team had managed to get inside the Watchtower undetected. Even worse was the sense Robin had that Klarion and Savage were letting him fight. One of them had to know how to send him tumbling to the ground. Dinah had been taken down by League members and someone was in the process of dismantling Red Tornado. In his panic, the clone was struggling to think of anything besides avoiding capture.

Klarion was cackling somewhere behind him, the sound echoing around in Robin's head. With a cry somewhere between panic and fury, Robin threw himself away from one of the Green Lantern Corp and towards the source of the laughter. It was be sheer dumb luck that he actually hit the source of the obnoxious laughter, the two of them crashing to the floor. Teekl, Klarion's familiar, yowled and swatted Robin on the cheek, drawing blood. Robin smacked the cat, sending it toppling back before it had a chance to shift into a larger form. Klarion threw the clone off with a snarl, hands suddenly crackling with energy.

"Witchboy," Savage snapped, tone impatient. "Control yourself." Klarion hissed but the power faded away like a chastened dog slinking off with its tail between its legs. "As for you," Savage continued, turning to Robin. "If you cannot behave as you should then perhaps it is time to eliminate you for good." Robin backed up a nervous step, bracing himself for attack. The real Robin would have been determined to go down fighting. The clone just wanted to hide. That was when Klarion's enslaved Justice League began to go offline.

"I'm loosing them," the embodiment of Chaos snarled.

"The junior Justice League," Savage growled. "They really are becoming a nuisance." Suddenly a sly look slipped into his eyes. Robin shuddered when that cruel smile was focused on him again. "Maybe I can put you to use after all little bird."

Robin felt as if someone had poured ice water down his spin. Another cool voice, one he almost recognized, purred in his ear _"Someday they will take advantage of your programming little bird. I am just ensuring that you can protect yourself when they do."_ The clone knew, even as his mind cleared, that he didn't quite trust whoever was haunting his mind. He trusted the gleam in Savage's dark eyes less.

"Time to put your programming to good use," the villain said with Klarion cackled delightedly in the background. "Track down your former teammates and eliminate them with extreme prejudiced, broken bird."

To his horror, Robin found his feet moving of their own accord. He could stop himself as he stalked the halls of the Watchtower, searching for the Young Justice team. He could only hope that he wouldn't find any of them before they completed their task. Back when he had still thought he was the real Robin, the clone would have thought his team capable of taking him down if necessary. Now, knowing that he had certain triggers programmed into his subconscious and training he didn't even remember, the boy had no idea what he would do to the people he'd once thought of as his friends.


	4. Part I, Chapter IV

_Robin was pulled into a dimly lit training room, mats lining the floors and walls. Most the equipment was in shadow, difficult to make out, but Robin recognized the gymnastic pieces from Dick Grayson's memories. His legs were slowly growing steadier as air continued to fill no longer burning lungs. The hold on him vanished as the man stepped back and Robin gathered his courage before turning. In the shadows of the room it took a moment to make out the mask before him, half black and half orange. There was only one eye revealed, steel gray, and vertical slits across where the mouth would be to allow easier breathing. More worrying was the fact that this man wasn't anyone Dick Grayson had ever seen or heard of before._

_"W-who are you?" he stammered out, shifting into a defensive stance. A low chuckle was the response he earned and the man seemed to melt into the shadows. He shouldn't have been disturbed by the vanishing act, Dick Grayson had seen both Bruce Wayne and Batman pull it off hundreds of times long before he'd taken the name Robin and started designing a uniform, but the unknown frightened the clone. He closed his eyes, trying to hear where the man had gone but to no avail. Then a solid arm wrapped around his throat and Robin began to truly comprehend how much danger he was in._

* * *

The clone couldn't be lucky enough to avoid the entire Young Justice team. He stumbled into Artemis while searching the halls, the young archer just finishing curing another Justice League member. She knocked an arrow almost faster then he could comprehend, aiming at him when he slipped around the corner only to relax slightly when she realized it was him. "Robin," she hissed at him. "Is everything-" Robin couldn't stop himself as he lashed out at her. Artemis let out a startled cry and leaned back, leaping out of his range and firing an arrow at his feet. It exploded on impact, sending him toppling back. His body flipped without his consent, landing him smoothly on his feet. Not for the first time since his life had coming crashing down around his ears, the clone felt completely out of control. Just like when he had infected the Justice League, Robin couldn't stop what he was doing.

"What is wrong with you?" Artemis demanded as she dodged one of Robin's multiple throwing stars. "I thought you were on our side."

_I'm sorry,_ Robin wanted to tell the female archer. _I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry. I don't want to hurt you!_ His mouth refused to cooperate. The mind control might have stopped him from speaking or running away from Artemis but it didn't stop the tears dripping down his cheeks. The blonde's expression turned confused and concerned even as she dodged another strike and almost mechanically knocked another arrow. Roy Harper practically appearing out of thin air brought them both to a standstill.

It was almost as if Robin's programming broke down at the sight of Roy. Red Arrow was a member of the Justice League and while he had been one of Robin's friends when he'd still thought he was the original, Roy had never been a part of the Young Justice team. The clone's hands went to his head with a pained cry and he crumpled to his knees. His head pounded, voices yelling at him in a jumbled mixture. Outside the world in his brain, he could hear Artemis calling his name and Roy insisting that she leave, promising that he'd take care of this. Robin just wanted the pain to end. He forced his head open, eyes filled with tears, and begged _"Please!"_ Roy's hand whipped up to smack hard against his temple, sending the younger boy tumbling into unconsciousness.

* * *

When Robin woke up he felt as if he had been run over by the Batmobile. His whole body ached and it took a moment to shove himself into a sitting position. The hallway he'd been left unconscious in was completely empty, even the cured Justice League member gone. How long had he been out? Had Savage won or had the Young Justice team managed to take the Light down? Panic rushed through him and Robin scrambled clumsily to his feet. He made his way down the hall, pressing one hand against the wall to steady himself. It was too dangerous for him not to have answers.

The entirety of the Justice League was gathered in the main control room, the Young Justice team filling them in on what they'd missed while under mind control. Robin shrank back into the hall. He didn't belong here. He'd been a plant, a traitor, and he wasn't even the real Robin. Nobody was going to want a cheap copy around. He headed for the zeta tubes.

The clone didn't exactly have a plan. He had a vague hope that he could could find Dick Grayson and free the boy (Would Dick still be nine or would he have grown during his imprisonment?) but there was a good possibility that the original was not alive. Robin also needed a new name. He couldn't continue to be Robin. The name was precious to Dick Grayson, the only thing the boy had left of his dead parents, and the clone was dishonoring Dick by using the name. He'd already soiled it by contaminating the entire Justice League. He needed a new identity before he destroyed Dick Grayson's legacy.

"Twenty-two, Robin," the computer's voice announced as the clone approached the zeta tubes. Blue light gleamed at him and he hesitated a moment, unsure. Dick Grayson was a natural born leader and had no problem making decisions. The clone was a pale copy, printed in black and white instead of color.

"Where are you going?" Red Arrow's voice startled the younger boy. Robin spun to stare at the other hero. He'd been sure that Roy was with the others explaining what had happened and wouldn't notice his exit. Now he was caught and he stared uncertainly down at his feet, arms wrapped tight around his stomach. "You don't have to run off," Roy continued, voice low and soothing. "Batman will want to talk to you, and Zatanna as well."

" _I can't._ " The words escaped Robin in a frightened sob, his entire body shuddering. Roy was studying him like one would a cornered wild animal.

"You don't need to run." Robin shook his head quickly, almost as if he were trying to give himself whiplash, and backed up a step towards the waiting freedom of the active zeta tube. "If you start running now, when are you ever going to learn to stop." Robin hesitated and Roy reached out to place a hand on the smaller boy's shoulder. "What's scaring you?" Robin considered the question, trembling slightly. "Facing Zatanna?"

Robin's mind turned towards the girl instantly. He could see her oval face in his mind, pale pink lips pulled up in a smile and blur eyes sparkling at him. His stomach twisted a little but the thought of speaking to her but it wasn't the source of the all encompassing terror he'd felt. Ever so slowly he shook his head and Roy's eyes grew knowing. "Batman?" The clone couldn't help his instinctual cringe at the mention of that name. "That's what I thought."

"I can't face him," the clone whimpered, trying to shrug off Roy's hand only to find that he couldn't.

"Sure you can," Roy pressed. "You're the bravest one on the team."

"That's not me," Robin protested. "That's the real Robin. I'm nothing like him. I'm a disgrace to his name."

" _Robin_ -" Roy began but the smaller boy wrenched out of his grasp with a low growl.

"Don't call me that," the clone yelled. " _I'm not him!_ " Then Robin all but dove into the zeta beam, vanishing to a new location. Roy stared after the boy, already hearing footsteps racing towards him. He knew it was far too late to find the young clone. Even if he wasn't really Robin, the boy would have erased his location by now. They wouldn't be finding him any time soon (except maybe a certain Bat).

* * *

Robin landed on his hands and knees inside Mount Justice. He stood slowly, wincing at the bruises he knew were forming on his knees, and rushing to his room to change into civilian clothes. He had a bag packed for emergencies and he shoved the mask inside, leaving the Robin costume dumped on the floor, before slipping on sunglasses and bolting for the exit. He had to get out of here. He couldn't stay or they'd come after him, come demanding answers he couldn't give and loyalty he couldn't promise. Hot tears burned in his eyes but he refused to let them loose as he ran, placing as much distance between himself and Happy Harbor as he could.


	5. Part I, Chapter V

_Robin squirmed against the unrelenting hold around his throat. "Having trouble controlling him already?" a voice asked and Robin's eyes darted to the door to see Sportsmaster grinning widely. "Didn't they teach you the proper words Deathstroke?" The assassin was gloating at whoever had Robin pinned, mask resting on the top of his head._

_Robin was dropped as the man behind him replied, "I do not require phrases to keep him under control Crock."_

_"Oh really?" Sportsmaster's mocked, smirking down at the clone. Robin pulled himself to his feet, body shuffling into a better stance to deal with a coming attack. "How cute," the assassin crooned. "Already ready for round two boy?"_

_"More than ready," Robin forced out with confidence he didn't feel. Sportsmaster's smirk only widened._

_"You're nothing more than a bird with broken wings," the assassin sneered. "You'll never be able to defeat me." Robin's body crumbled to the ground, head banging hard against the floor. The last thing he heard was Deathstroke's low growl before he let unconsciousness drag him away_.

* * *

True to Roy's prediction, Robin had erased his target location from the zeta tube logs. Batman was still immersed in his attempts to find the clone when Green Arrow guided Roy towards the zeta tubes. "You need some rest kid," Oliver said, voice low as he studied his former sidekick. "And Felicity would love to see you again." Felicity Smoak was Oliver Queen's technical genius and one of Roy's oldest friends. He hadn't seen her since he'd stormed away from Ollie during he and his friends so called induction into the Justice League headquarters on earth.

"Twenty-one, Red Arrow," the computerized voice announced as the zeta beam that would take him to the arrow cave activated.

"I'm not staying," he warned Oliver at last but the older man only smiled knowingly.

Roy sighed and stepped into the beam, hearing the computerized voice announce, "Zero-Eight, Green Arrow," just before he was beamed away. Sure enough, Felicity Smoak was seated in front of her computer typing away. She spun her computer chair and then beamed at the sight of him as if it were Christmas. She lunged out of her chair to tackle him with a surprisingly strong hug, almost sending him stumbling into Ollie who was appearing behind him. When she pulled back she looked torn between irritation and relief.

"Roy Harper don't you dare run off without calling me ever again," she snapped at him, shaking him slightly.

"I promise," he reassured her with the best grin he could manage, hoping she wouldn't press any further. Of course, he couldn't be that lucky.

"Something's wrong," she said, eyes narrowing at him from behind her glasses. When he shook his head she sighed and frowned, first at him and then at Ollie, before grabbing Roy's arm and tugging him over to shove him down in her chair. "Talk," she ordered. Roy sighed, ignored Oliver's quiet laugh, and prepared himself for a long night.

* * *

The clone curled up on the forest floor, exhaustion washing over him. He'd run until he couldn't anymore, then walked until he thought his legs were going to dissolve into nothingness. Now he leaned his head against the rough bark of a tree, breathing coming out in tired rasps. His eyes flickered closed and he heard his own voice pleading, _"But how will I find you when I need you?"_

_"Trust me boy," that all too familiar voice purred, making him shiver._ _"When you need me I will find you."_ Robin groaned and pulled himself out of the almost memory, trying to focus. He needed answers, but more importantly, he needed to know what phrases would trigger him and who the voice in his head belonged to. This was the second time that voice had popped out of nowhere and while his memories were slowly filtering back he could put a name or face to the voice. That worried him. _"They programmed you," the smooth voice spoke up and Robin could feel warm breath near the back of his neck. "Worry less about what I have to teach you and more about what they will accomplish with that programming."_

"Shut up," the clone snarled, hands clenching into fists. "Shut up, shut up, _shut up!_ "

His exhaustion wasn't helping matters. His head was spinning and he kept getting flashes of memories. He was sure some of them weren't his, they were Dick's. How he had memories from the very person he'd been cloned from, memories of recent years, he wasn't sure. He saw flashes of transport containers and men in lab coats he vaguely recognized from his time at the lab. He whimpered as his head began to throb. His whole body shivered and his stomach rolled. He leaned over and vomited everything that had been in his stomach.

"I can't do this," Robin whimpered, fingers scrabbling against the bark, ripping his nails apart. "I can't, I can't, _I can't!"_ He slumped against the tree, blood dripping from his torn nails. He sobbed and retched, shaking uncontrollably, and he heard Roy in his head asking when he'd stop running. He didn't know the answer.

* * *

Slade Wilson was settled in front of his computer when Wintergreen entered the main room of their current haunt. "You've been sitting here for the past eight hours," the old soldier said, settling a steaming teacup at the mercenary's elbow. "Are you attempting to hypnotize yourself using the screens again?"

"I wasn't trying that the last time," Slade replied, voice vaguely amused. Wintergreen's eyebrow arched slightly as he studied his old friend's back.

"Good news sir?"

"The Light has failed." Wintergreen snorted at that.

"Of course they did. They predicted the reactions of a human being over a period of several years. Even you cannot do that." Then the man turned and walked away, leaving Deathstroke the Terminator grinning under his mask. The boy would be scared and confused. He'd be remembering things in short bursts. And sooner or later he would come running back to Slade for help. Everything was falling into place.


	6. Part I, Chapter VI

_Robin's eyes flickered open slowly. His head throbbed in his ears like a drumbeat but, surprisingly, nothing else hurt. "You're awake," a voice from his left said. "Good."_

_"Sportsmaster?" Robin rasped out curiously, staring at the ceiling._

_"He won't be bothering us." The statement was cool and calm, as if the man were talking about the weather and not an assassin who could make Robin crumble with just two little words. The clone pushed himself up slowly and studied the armored figure that was leaning casually against the wall._

_"Who are you?" He expected the same dismissive answer he'd been given before. Instead the man seemed to be studying him back. "You really don't know, do you?" The figure sounded almost amused. "Not even after Sportsmaster dropped the name I normally use for my business."_

_"No, I don't know," Robin growled out, voice wavering between trepidation and irritation._

_"Easy kid," the man replied, moving smoothly away from the wall. Robin backed up a couple steps until something smacked the back of his head. Then he turned slowly and found himself staring at Sportsmaster who was hanging from the ceiling, unconscious. "My name is Slade Wilson," the man said and Robin could hear the amusement in his voice. The clone wasn't sure he wanted to turn around._

* * *

Robin woke up gasping for breath. His chest was heaving, his hands ached from the way the tree bark had torn them up, and his stomach rumbled. He had no idea what he was going to do next. It took effort to pull himself to his feet, his skin soaked with dew. His head spun and his stomach tried to revolt as he steadied himself against a tree. He needed water soon or he might not survive another day. Robin picked a direction and slowly stumbled up the slope of a hill, only to find him almost falling downhill a moment later. Each step was a herculean effort and his vision was wavering, head spinning, by the time he heard the promising gurgle of a stream dancing over rocks.

The clone fell to his knees next to the water and cupped his hands underneath the cool liquid, lifting it to his mouth. He lay on his stomach and drank until he felt like his stomach couldn't take any more. His head had finally stopped spinning and his legs felt steadier when he stood. His hands still throbbed but that was his own fault, really. His mind shivered slightly towards that panicked state from the evening before and he wrenched it away with difficulty. Memories were pressing against him, making his head throb. _"Come find me little bird,"_ a voice in his head crooned and Robin shuddered all over with fear. He didn't know if he wanted to find who the voice belonged to.

A new worry struck the boy suddenly, making him lean heavily against a tree. Some of the Light, if not all the members, were still free. What if they came after him? Or worse, what if Sportsmaster was still loose? The assassin would kill Robin for what he'd pulled off. The Justice League would find his mutilated body days later, flies buzzing around him lazily. The thought made him start shaking again. His stomach rebelled and he found himself vomiting up the water he'd managed to stomach. His skin was clammy and he wavered on his feet, a bloody hand stretching out towards a nearby tree. His hand slipped on scratchy bark and he just barely managed to avoid landing in a puddle of his own vomit. The world spun crazily around him as he tried to gulp in air. Moments later he was passed out on the forest floor, birds chirping happily overhead.

* * *

It took Slade nearly twenty-four hours to track down the boy from his haunt. Events had moved a little faster than the mercenary had anticipated and the boy had bolted. Slade had managed to discern where the boy had fled to from the Watchtower, after all _he_ was the one who had taught the clone how to hack like this. The boy was running scared. He wouldn't stay at Happy Harbor, too many heroes swarming about, and he'd be too scared to think logically. That meant he was on foot in the nearby coastal forest. It could be difficult to track the young clone down but Slade had experience in such matters. He would find the child down. After all, he'd made a promise.

"Wintergreen," the mercenary called, knowing his old friend would be close enough to hear. "Pack my things. I'll be leaving in ten minutes."

* * *

When Robin came to the sun was high in the sky. His skin prickled with sweat and the stench of vomit made his nose wrinkle. He pulled himself away from the puddle of his own sick, flies buzzing around it. He crawled to the stream, he'd been keeping close to it in case he needed more water, and drank. The water felt cool on his burning throat and he drank slowly, hoping he could avoid throwing up again. He'd done that enough in the last twenty-four hours and he had yet to find something to eat. He knew a human could survive three days without food but considerably less without water so his first priority had been to find a stream. Now he needed food or he wouldn't last long enough to track down Dick Grayson.

After his dreams the night before and flashes of things he'd seen but not understood while he was passed out, Robin was fairly certain that the original Robin was alive somewhere. What condition Dick Grayson might be in was questionable but the boy was undoubtedly alive. It was Robin's job to track him down an rescue him. Batman and the team deserved the real deal, not a cheap fake. He huffed out a broken laugh and stumbled onwards. The muscles in his legs practically screamed in protest, although the pain had lessened some once he'd drank his fill.

_"Someday they'll take advantage of your programming,"_ the voice crooned in his head, an unwelcome interruption. Robin slumped to the ground and pressed his hands against his forehead with a whimper.

"Who are you?" he cried, tears welling in his eyes.

_"My name is Slade Wilson."_ Robin screamed in pure terror and for a moment he was no longer in the woods. Instead he was in some kind of shadowy training room, Sportsmaster hanging limply from the ceiling. _"Now let's get started,"_ the voice continued and Robin found himself biting down another scream.

* * *

Roy woke up and stared uncomprehendingly at the ceiling of the so-called Arrow Cave. He'd spent most the night having answers coaxed and pried out by Felicity before collapsing on one of the cots Ollie kept in the back for emergencies and injuries and drifting off into a dreamless sleep. Now that he was awake, with everything beginning to wash over him once more, he felt restlessness beginning to fill him. He was clean, dressed, and heading for the zeta tube when Felicity came down the stairs, her hair pulled up in a ponytail that bounced with every step. "Where are you going?" she demanded.

"I have to find my friend," Roy told her. Felicity stopped on the bottom step, tapping her foot and giving him a meaningful look. "I was going to leave a note," Roy added sheepishly and she sighed, throwing her hands in the air.

"You're hopeless Harper," she told him. Ollie's chuckle startled them both. Felicity almost levitated and Roy flinched, hand reaching for an arrow before he realized who it was.

"I'm glad you finally realized that," Oliver said, grinning at the blonde before turning to his former sidekick. "I hope you weren't planning on leaving without me."

"We're wasting time," Roy snapped, feeling as if panic was rising up to choke him. Most people would have taken offense at Roy's tone but Oliver knew how to read the younger man from years spent working together.

"Roy, you don't even know where to start looking," Oliver pointed out, despite the fact that he was already gathering his things and moving towards the changing room.

"Actually," the younger man replied. "I do."


	7. Part I, Chapter VII

_"Now let's get started," the man said. Robin spun, sensing movement behind him, but couldn't quite manage to block the blow the armored man aimed at him. He did duck the second one and actually used Sportsmaster's body as a shield so he could get some space between himself and Wilson. The man chuckled at the movement. "Good, already using your surroundings to your advantage. So the Bat did teach the original something." Robin's upper lip curled at the slight to his, no Dick Grayson's mentor, and he was lunging before he had fully decided to move._

_The open handed blow had Robin crumpling towards the ground, head spinning. "Easily angered," the man continued, booted foot smacking into Robin's ribs. The clone let out a pained yelp and scrambled to his feet only to have Wilson send him tumbling down again with one swift movement. "Which makes your reckless."_

_"Shut up!" Robin snarled, rolling away from another kick and scrambling to his feet. He aimed a kick at Wilson's side only to have the man's hand snap out almost faster than the clone could follow to grab his ankle. Robin's eyes widened and Wilson yanked his ankle hard, unbalancing him. The boy found himself dangling from one ankle, his head a couple feet away from the floor. "Put me down!" the clone demanded, squirming frantically as his heart started pounding in terror._

_"You let your emotions guide you," Wilson said, his voice a bored monotone. Then he dropped Robin, letting the clone topple to the floor, and said, "Again."_

* * *

The plane Slade had hitched a ride on landed smoothly in Happy Harbor an hour and a half after it had taken flight. Wintergreen was probably still packing up the last of the haunt and cursing Slade under his breath for the sudden move, as he always did. The thought tried to force a smile on the mercenary's face but he held the expression at bay as he gathered his only luggage, a carry on, and headed outside to where he could commandeer a car. By now the clone had been alone in the wilderness for twenty-seven hours, give or take an hour or so, and the more time Slade wasted the more likely it was that the Bat would track down his protege. He was not having his little bird stolen by the Bat, not after all the work he'd put into the child. It was time to get his project back.

* * *

It was odd being back in Mount Justice without having Robin moving through the halls. There was no noise, no life left in the place. Roy knew the team had dispersed for a few days but it still felt odd to step inside without having anyone there to greet him. Oliver followed right behind him and Roy could almost feel the confusion radiating off the older hero. "Robin is familiar and comfortable with Gotham," Roy began to explain without being asked. "But recently the clone has spent most of his time here and he has managed to convince himself that he's just a cheap imitation of what the real Robin would have been. He wouldn't return to Gotham." Oliver nodded, accepting the reasoning, and the pair headed for what had been Robin's room.

The boy hadn't taken much with him, not that there had probably been much in the room to begin with. According to Wally, Robin spent most nights at his home in Wayne Manor so it made sense that the boy would keep most of his personal things there. Still, Roy had known Robin since the boy was ten. And at ten he'd been a talkative little brat flipping around everywhere and chattering non-stop. At one point, Red Arrow swore that the boy had mentioned an emergency kit with a change of clothes, some money, and a fake ID. Doubtless the boy had one here, just in case something happened that would send the team to ground.

A quick search of Robin's room, and ten minutes spent double checking with Wally over the phone, they found that the only thing missing from the boy's space was a backpack. Add that to the fact that the Robin costume was dumped on the floor and it was easy to tell the boy was long gone. "So where to next?" Oliver asked as they left Robin's room.

"Outside," Roy answered, already marching to the door. "We're heading for the woods."

* * *

Sweat was dripping down Robin's back, sticking his shirt to his skin as he walked. He hadn't found anything he was sure was edible, he'd only had one lesson in wilderness survival since living in Gotham hadn't exactly required those kinds of skills, and he hadn't wanted to risk eating anything poisonous. He paused frequently to drink, knowing lack of water would kill him faster than lack of food. His backpack smacked against his back as he continued moving steadily up hill. His breath came out in harsh pants and the voice kept whispering in his ear, insisting that this Slade Wilson would find him. Robin wasn't sure who Slade Wilson was or even if he wanted the man to find him.

With a sigh the boy sank down on the edge of the hill, staring back the way he had come. He could see Mount Justice in the distance, his old home. He'd spent more time in the mountain stronghold recently than the Batcave and it had somehow become his home away from home. Now that Robin knew he wasn't the original, it was possibly the only place he could think of as home. He regarded it wistfully as he caught his breath. He had so many happy memories there. His breath suddenly caught in his throat as he saw two figures exit the mountain, heading into the woods. Unreasonable terror washed through him as he scrambled clumsily to his feet.

From this distance, he couldn't tell who exactly was coming after him but the green and red costumes limited the number of people it could be. One of the Lanterns perhaps, Red Tornado, Artemis, Green Arrow, Flash, and Red Arrow were all options. It didn't really matter who they were. Any one of them would demand answers that Robin didn't know how to give. The boy scrambled up the hill as fast as his exhausted legs could carry him. He couldn't let them catch up to him.

* * *

Slade felt some of his tension melt away as he abandoned the stolen car and made his way into the forest. His footsteps were as close to silent as he could manage, meaning pretty much no one short of Superman or Superboy would be likely to hear them. The mercenary had been a hunter in his youth, a long time before he'd become a science experiment. He knew how to track an animal, or a small frightened child, through the woods. Furthermore, he was already firmly embedded into the clone's subconscious. Even if the Justice League knew where to look for the child, the mercenary held the advantage. He would have the little bird hidden before the fools hidden in the Watchtower realized the boy was out of their reach.


	8. Part I, Chapter VIII

_Robin hated to admit it, but he wanted to go back into his tube. His whole body felt like one huge bruise and he'd barely landed a hit on Wilson. Trying to connect a blow on the man was like attempting to seize smoke with his bare hands, impossible. He picked himself carefully off the floor for what felt like the thousandth time, legs shaking as they attempted to support him. He wanted desperately to sleep but doubted he would be allowed to rest any time soon._

_Sportsmaster had roused part way through Robin's third struggle with Wilson and, once he'd assessed the situation, had started cussing creatively at Wilson. Robin had actually paused mid fight, stunned by the variety he was hearing. He'd almost expected Wilson to take advantage of his distraction. Instead the man had turned an icy gaze upon the assassin and snarled, "You will silence yourself now or I will silence you and leave you hanging there." Sportsmaster had growled but gave in under that fierce gaze. Then Wilson had returned his attention to the clone. They'd finished their battle, Robin panting on the floor, and Wilson had released Sportsmaster who had stalked out of the room, only pausing to shoot a venemous glare at the boy who was making his way to his feet._

_Robin flinched, startled, when a water bottle entered his vision. "Drink," Wilson ordered and the boy did as he was told, not daring to study the man. The water helped steady him and slowed the frantic rushing in his head. His breathing was slowly, his pounding heart moving down to a more manageable rate. "That's it kid," Wilson said, the man looming over him. Robin tilted his head up slightly to study the man, puzzled. "Finish the rest of it," Wilson ordered. "Then we'll begin again." Robin didn't have the courage to argue_.

* * *

Roy hated the woods. Sure there were plenty of trees to shelter behind if worse came to worse but the same trees that would shield him from danger also hampered his ability to take out any opponents. At least the archer knew how to handle a city situation. Robin wouldn't be much more comfortable in the forest but the kid could use practically anything as a jungle gym, including Batman at times, and he'd be able to use the trees to his advantage. That would make finding the younger boy difficult. Still Roy was sure that his friend was here. Robin was the king of being four steps ahead of everyone else but the clone was the epitome of a frightened child.

The day had warmed up quickly which was unfair. Happy Harbor apparently got nice winter weather while Starling City was either smothered by snow or sleet for three months. Roy and Oliver worked with the silent precision born of years working together in Starling without communication devices, scanning the forest for any signs of the lost Boy Wonder. Roy wasn't quite sure what he was looking for but Oliver had spent five years on an island and hopefully between the two of them, they would find the boy before the Light decided to take revenge on him.

* * *

Robin was forced to pause and rest again, panting for breath. Running had been a very bad idea. He was exhausted, thirsty, and hungry. His skin was coated in sweat and his head was spinning. He slumped toward the ground with a tired whimper, knowing he would be crying if his body could spare the liquid. How was he going to free Dick Grayson? He couldn't even care for himself. "Stupid, stupid, _stupid!_ " he rasped, yanking at his hair. "Come on, you have to be good at something." The words felt like a lie. The truth was, Robin was simply a tool. On his own, he was useless, a puppet with its strings cut.

The boy discovered that his whole body was shaking as if he were trapped in an earthquake. His breath was coming out in sharp rasps and he couldn't quite manage to come up with enough air. It felt as if someone were steadily tightening their hands around his throat while a steel band constricted his lungs. His head pounded and Robin managed to shove it between his knees as he struggled to calm himself. _"Useless,"_ he berated himself, trembling fingers tightening in his hair to the point of pain.

A sudden rustling had has self-hatred quickly being replaced with fear. Robin slid slowly to his feet, shifting into a defensive stance as he scanned his surroundings. Had the League caught up to him already? Or maybe it was an agent of the Light here to eliminate him? His searching revealed nothing but that wasn't unusual. Even criminals in Gotham who tangled regularly with Batman learned eventually to blend into the shadows. Robin did another sweep, body braced for attack, but when he once again spotted nothing he felt silly. Still it was hard to push away the unease in his stomach.

* * *

Slade smirked as he watched the boy scan his surroundings before settling back down again. The rustling had caught the clone's attention quickly, yanked him out of his panic attack, but he was too naive and unwary yet to believe the sound was anything but an animal moving about the woods. That was a mistake on the child's part but one that suited the mercenary's needs. Like Robin, he had spotted the League members entering the woods, and he was curious to see how the situation would play out. Unlike the clone, he knew the League members were close. Oliver Queen was far from a fool, anyone Deathstroke had personally trained was bound to be competent, and knew how to track someone in the woods.

Sure enough, Queen and his former sidekick, Harper, stepped into view just minutes after the boy had calmed himself. Robin's eyes widened behind the mask he still wore and his whole body stiffened. Then he bolted. Harper took after the boy. Queen shook his head at the both of them but followed, unaware that Slade was shadowing his every step.

"Robin wait," Harper called after the fleeing clone.

The boy did actually stop but only to turn and snap, "I told you not to call me that." Identity problems then. That was interesting but not exactly unexpected. The clone had spent four years thinking he was the real Dick Grayson so to find out that what he had believed was a lie would be difficult to stomach. Slade had anticipated the boy facing that problem the moment Desmond had involved Slade in the Light's plans.

"Okay," Harper said, sounding as if he were trying to talk down a spooked animal. Slade could already tell that wasn't going to work. Maybe if he'd tried that tone before using the name Robin but now the boy was too worked up to calm down. "Then tell me what you want to be called." The kid hesitated, hands trembling.

"I don't know," the kid whimpered, body tensed to run.

" _Please_ -" Harper began but the kid was done talking.

" _No!_ " He all but screamed at Harper. "Just leave me alone." Harper rocked back on his heels, stunned, and that was all the time the boy needed to vanish into the trees.


	9. Part I, Chapter IX

_It had taken time and led to far too many bruises to count but Robin was finally on par with the original. It was a horrible feeling. The creature that had explained things to the clone had explained as much of the plan as he understood. The boy was horrified but the knowledge but unsure that he could do anything with it. He doubted the Light and Desmond would allow him to be returned to Batman with all the information necessary to bring them down. The only pleasure the boy had gotten from his experiences was learning the acrobatics that had been so natural to Dick Grayson. The feeling of flying without wings, of temporarily forgetting gravity existed, thrilled him like nothing else did. The times when he was using those skills were the only times when he was truly happy._

_The clone was alone in the training room for the time, twenty-four hours left before he would be mind wiped and tossed to the unsuspecting Batman. He was flying through the air between the uneven bars when he felt the prickle between his shoulder blades that meant he was being watched. The boy landed catlike on the ground and rose fluidly, forcing himself to stay calm as he turned to face the figure. Wilson stood on the doorway, single eye fixed upon the small boy. "Come with me," Wilson ordered, voice cool and unemotional. Then the man turned and walked away, leaving the small boy to hesitate and deliberate over whether or not he truly wanted to follow._

* * *

"How are you handling things?" Zatanna Zatara resisted the urge to throw her phone at the nearest wall when Artemis brought up The Question. It was all the young magician ever heard anymore. Ever since the disaster of a mission that had set them up to fight the Justice League, everyone around Zatanna kept asking how she was. It was annoying. "Zatanna?" Artemis's voice startled the other girl out of her thoughts.

"Sorry," she apologized to the archer. "I was just trying to resist the urge to throw the phone out the window since you asked The Question."

"Wha- _Oh_ ," Artemis said and Zatanna heard the sudden realization in her friend's voice. "I didn't even think of that. Mom knows about my extra curricular activities but she doesn't know details."

"Dad asks me how I'm doing every time I come out of my room," Zatanna replied. "And I can't even answer him because I don't know how I feel."

The line between them remained silent for a minute as Artemis considered that. "You liked Robin, didn't you?" the archer asked finally.

"Yes, I mean I think so." Zatanna began pacing fretfully, one hand twisting in the fabric of her shirt. "He was just so sweet when we met and then, when we found out he was a clone, it shattered all that. I don't even know if the Robin I met, the one I liked, was the real one. I don't even know if he likes me!"

"Calm down Z," Artemis pleaded, sounding overwhelmed. "One thing at a time."

"Okay," Zatanna said, her voice wavering a little. "Okay."

* * *

Robin didn't see his attacker until he was struck hard in the chest and tossed on to the ground. His breath whooshed out of him in a strangled gasp and for a moment the whirled blurred around him. When he could finally see properly again, gasping for breath, someone was looming over him. An armored arm reached down toward him and he whimpered. The hand drew back then and the boy struggled to his feet, taking in the figure before him. The orange-bronze, black, and silver armor seemed eerily familiar. Robin hissed as his vision wavered, lifting a hand to his head. It only took a moment before he was overwhelmed.

The memories flashed by on the backs of his eyelids faster than he could truly comprehend. Voices whispered in his head and he pressed both hands against his eyes with a frightened cry. An arm locked around his back kept him upright as he struggled to process the new information. One name seemed to rush out above everything else; _Slade Wilson._ Robin's body jerked as he suddenly realized who was holding him up. Nine year old Dick Grayson might not have known who Slade Wilson really was but the thirteen year old clone knew exactly what the man did for a living.

Slade Wilson was more commonly known in the criminal underground as Deathstroke the Terminator. The man was a mercenary, a gun to hire with the reputation of being both ruthless and terrifyingly efficient. Very few people faced down Deathstroke and came out of the encounter alive. Robin whimpered again, hand come to press against cold armor. Wilson had supported the small boy against his side and with the way Robin's whole body was trembling, the arm around his ribcage was probably the only reason the boy was still standing. "Everything will be fine little bird," Wilson practically purred. "Trust me." And, for a reason he couldn't quite explain, he almost did.

* * *

Slade was pleased. This had worked out better than he could have hoped. The bird had burned his bridges, turning away the archer who had come after him, and he obviously remembered enough for him to have some trust in the mercenary. His suspicious were only confirmed when the boy glanced up at him from behind the domino mask and asked, "Where have you been?"

"Waiting for the Light to fall apart," he replied smoothly, still supporting the child. The kid tilted his head, appearing uncertain, and Slade smirked behind his mask. "Relax little bird," he soothed, voice riding the edge between fact and taunt. "I came for you, did I not?" The kid studied him, body tensed as if to flee at any moment. Slade was not going to let the boy go but it wouldn't do to tell the kid that. He released the clone when the boy tried to step back, senses alert for sign of attack.

"You left me for dead," the child replied, voice wavering uncertainly.

"No." The kid flinched, startled by the vehemence at the mercenary's tone. "I gave you the tools to survive. You just didn't use them."

"I was programmed. Nothing more than a tool," the kid snapped, hands clenching into his fists. A moment later his hands rose to his head, clenching in his hair. He stumbled and almost went down with a pained cry. The memories were coming back, washing over him. The boy wasn't going to be able to handle them like this. The influx of suppressed memories could send the clone into a coma. Slade took the only acceptable option; he knocked the child out. He was already planning his next move as the clone crumpled to the ground.


	10. Part I, Chapter X

_When Robin entered the hall, Wilson was already far ahead of him. The mercenary had slowed his pace slightly but the boy still had to jog to catch up. He kept just out of arm's reach of the older man, still uncertain whether or not it was a good idea to be following him. Wilson had been cold for the most part towards the young clone but not overly harsh. If nothing else, it made him curious. They stopped before a solid steel door, Wilson turning to face him. "Behind this door, out of sight of Desmond and his lackeys, I can give you the tools to defend yourself from them," the man told him, voice low and dark. "But the memories will have to be suppressed to keep the Light from knowing."_

_Robin shuffled uncertainly from foot to foot, considering his options. The Light was using him for their own purposes and Wilson was offering him a chance to take matters into his own hands, to maybe choose his own fate. Doubtless it wasn't safe but what other option do I have. "Okay," he agreed softly._

_"Are you certain?" The question was surprisingly gentle coming from the man that had been throwing him across a room as if he were truly weightless only a couple hours ago._

_"Yes," Robin replied firmly._

_"Then let's get started." Robin got the oddest feeling that Wilson was smirking beneath his mask_.

* * *

Years of training with Robin had given Roy practice in figuring out what direction the small acrobat had gone. Batman's partner had a habit of disappearing into thin air and while Wally had never quite been able to figure out how to track the boy down, Roy had. It had taken a year and a half of practice, along with some advice from Ollie and Alfred Pennyworth, but it was paying off now. The archer shook off his shock and closed his eyes for a moment, listening for anything that could signal to him where the boy was. A moment later he was sprinting inland, hoping he could catch up to Robin before something bad happened, trusting Oliver to be right behind him.

His guess on which direction Robin had gone was confirmed when something flew through the air and almost smacked him in the head. Roy just managed to dodge, coming out of his roll and reaching for an arrow as he rose. He caught a brief flash of orange and black, knocked the arrow, and released on instinct, scrambling behind a tree for cover. That was when he caught sight of the mask. _Deathstroke the Terminator._

Ollie and Slade Wilson had a history, although Roy wasn't entirely certain about what that history was, and it hadn't ended well. Most likely a confrontation between the two of them would end terribly. Even more worrying was the question of why a mercenary such as Deathstroke would be around Happy Harbor. The small California town wasn't exactly a haven for criminal activity, even though it did house the Junior Justice League, so it wasn't likely that Wilson was hear on a job. That left the more worrying possibility that Wilson was working for the Light.

Another projectile struck his hiding spot and Roy fired back, hoping his former mentor would arrive soon. Last time the younger archer had gone toe to toe with Slade Wilson, it hadn't ended well. Roy had spent a week in the hospital. An arrow with green fletching barely missed Roy's cheek but the younger archer didn't bother to be annoyed about the close call. Instead he was diving the opposite direction, trusting Ollie to cover for him as he scrambled towards the small body lying limp on the ground. Robin's chest was rising and falling slowly and when Roy knelt next to the small frame, his pulse was strong if not a little fast. "Come on, please wake up," Roy pleaded softly, then flinched when he heard a grunt of pain.

He turned in time to see Oliver reel back, hand rising up to cover an eye. Roy had known Slade to be nasty in a fight, but not to be downright dirty. The younger archer growled and knocked an arrow, firing. Wilson dodged smoothly and blocked Ollie's next blow, shattering the bow. Oliver wasn't fast enough to block the next hit and Roy rose to a crouch, firing off another arrow. That was apparently the last straw for Wilson. The man abandoned Oliver, who was painfully pulling himself up, and headed for Roy. He also caught the next arrow the young archer fired off in midair. Roy wasn't able to dodge quick enough and Wilson lashed out, striking him hard in the head. The last thing he saw as he toppled to the ground, Oliver yelling his name, was Wilson leaning over him to snatch up Robin.

* * *

"So you obviously like Robin, regardless of whether or not he actually likes you," Artemis said once Zatanna's breathing had calmed on the other end of the line. "Once the League has tracked him down, and you know Batman will, you can talk to him and you guys can sort everything out. It'll be fine."

"Yeah," Zatanna agreed, giggling a little. "Thanks Artemis. You're a good friend."

"I try," the blonde said, glad Zatanna was here so the other girl couldn't see her flush. Artemis had never really had friends. Having a father and sister who were both assassins and a mother who had spent years locked away didn't exactly endear her to anyone. Having friends now was a little overwhelming at times.

Something chirped across the room, startling the blonde. Her eyes fell on the communicator Ollie, Roy, and the members of so called Team Arrow used to send messages and she scrambled for it, mumbling a vague agreement to whatever Zatanna had just said. The message on the screen when she flipped the communicator made her brown eyes widen. "Sorry Z but something important has come up," she told the other girl, her words mashing together in her rush to spit them out. "I'll talk to you later, okay?" She hung up before she could hear the dark haired girl's confused agreement.

* * *

Robin woke up in a dark room. He was surprisingly comfortable considering the last thing he remembered was him back talking an infamous mercenary. Blindly he stretched out a hand, smacking nothing but softness. He was on a mattress of some kind. Wilson had bothered to lay him down on a bed then. Why? Mercenaries weren't really known for their cuddly behavior, after all. Robin rolled over cautiously and reached out again, repeating the action twice more until he could feel the edge of the bed. Then he slid off, bare feet landing on cold stone or tile. He made his way cautiously across the dark room, hoping he was head for a door. Instead he encountered a strangely smooth wall, probably made of the same material as the floor. His hands slid across it like a blind man trying to find his way through and unfamiliar room.

The boy flinched and scrambled back a few steps when part of the wall slid open, revealing a lighted hallway. After a moment, when nothing happened, the clone cautiously crept into the hall. The floor transitioned from smooth tile to rough stone and the door began to slide shut behind him. Robin spun around too late to stop it, sudden terror making his heart pound. He was shaking all over as he crumpled to the floor, fists pressed against the space where the door had been and tears pouring down his chest. He cried until he couldn't anymore, tears and snot making a mess of his face, and even after he was cried out he stayed hunched up on the floor, feeling too dead to move.

**End Part One**

* * *


	11. Part II, Chapter XI

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Note that Part Two takes place six months after the end of Part One.

It had been six months since Roy had woken up in the Arrow Cave, Felicity leaning worriedly over him while Oliver explained the situation to Artemis Crock. Six months since he'd last seen Robin. Six months since Slade Wilson had vanished into thin air. Oliver had done digging, as had Batman, and both had discovered that Deathstroke had taken no contracts, finishing his last one before he'd arrived in Happy Harbor. He'd disappeared completely off the map and part of Roy wanted to give up hope. Then they'd come upon a lead, or rather Artemis Crock had.

Roy had known who the blonde's family was from the moment he'd met her. Because of that, he'd suspected her as the mole before she'd proven herself. Now the pair tolerated each other, and even worked together from time to time in order to protect Starling City. She wasn't half bad and she also wasn't the sort to give something up. She'd tracked down her older sister, the assassin known as Cheshire. Neither Ollie nor Roy was quite sure what the relationship between the sisters was but Artemis had come back with information.

"She doesn't like Robin, per say," the blonde had explained as she'd dumped her backpack on one of the tables in the Arrow Cave. "But she likes Wilson less. And in our family, it's ever girl for herself until we reach the point where what one is doing is beneficial to the other." She had paused and reached into her backpack, removing a manila envelope. "She gave me this. Apparently in the last two weeks rumors have began to spread that Wilson has a protege called Renegade. He's only been seen a couple times but Jade managed to dig up a couple pictures and find out what location he'll be at next."

"You think Renegade is Robin?" Roy question as Ollie began sorting through the new information."

Artemis had just shrugged, eyes dark, and said, "I don't know."

That was how Roy had ended up in Bludhaven. It was late July so the weather was rainy instead of snowy but it wasn't particularly warm. The archer had his jacket zipped up over his thinner summer uniform and was hoping the continual rain didn't damage his bow. His eyes scanned the alley he was waiting in, the suspected target Jade had given Artemis still lurking inside the seedy bar. He hoped the information was right because otherwise he would be left at another dead end. And Robin would spend more time in Slade's clutches.

* * *

Bludhaven was dark, dank, and chilly. A part of the figure crouched on the rooftop holding down shivers by sheer stubborn will realized that Bludhaven reminded him of another city that had felt like home. He pushed that away. A person in his line of work couldn't afford emotions. The figure was dressed in a black kevlar jumpsuit with a wide V of red whose point started in the middle of his chest. The arms of the V spread up across his shoulders and then turned to black again, leaving him almost invisible despite the fine mist of rain that drifted down from the sooty looking clouds hanging low in the sky.

The figure was called Renegade. It was the only name he could truly call his own. Any other life he'd had before this was a lie that had been fed to him in order to fool a powerful enemy of the people who'd created him. When Renegade had discovered the truth he'd been crushed. His master had found him then and made something worthwhile of his life. Now all that was left was for him to create a reputation for himself, one that would be spread in hushed whispers of fear. A slow smirk crossed his face before it could take root. Emotions were useless.

His target stepped out of the bar into view. It was a man in his late forties, dark hair just beginning to grey. He was a politician who had refused the wrong bribe. The hit had come in four days ago and Renegade had built the hit until his master had approved it. Now was his first mission without his master walking him through it, his first time out alone. If the young assassin had bothered with emotions he would have been drowning in excitement. Renegade rose from his crouch, dropping noiselessly down on to the rusting fire escape with the ease brought about by long hours of practice. He followed his target into the night, not noticing the figure in red watching his every move.

* * *

The politician stepped out into the damp night, nervously scanning his surroundings before making his way towards one of the main streets. He paused again under one of the few flickering streetlights Bludhaven kept repaired, glancing around nervously again. From the shadows, Roy did the same thing. According to Jade's intel, this man had refused the wrong bribe and someone had paid a lot of money to see him dead. Renegade had taken the job four days ago but hadn't been heard from since.

If Roy hadn't known what to look for, he would have missed the shadow that detatched itself from the roof of a building and slid down to a fire escape before shadowing the politician's every step. Roy followed , bow in hand. Renegade or not, he couldn't allow an assassin to kill a good, okay decent, man. He was going to stop this. The assassin followed the nervous politician down the main street and around a corner towards a more secluded part of town. Roy saw the flash of a blade and drew an arrow free from his quiver, ready to strike. The blade flew from the assassin's hand and Roy loosed an arrow, sending the blade spinning off course. The politician let out a little startled yip, spinning around and staring with wide eyes.

" _Run_ ," Roy yelled as he fired off another arrow at the assassin who rolled gracefully out of the way, rising up with another blade. Part of him was aware that the politician was sprinting away but the rest of him was focused on dodging the next blade that flew expertly his way. Renegade or not, this was not going to be an easy fight.


	12. Part II, Chapter XII

When the knife spun sideways Renegade was stunned. He'd missed. That wasn't possible. He never missed, his master had made sure of that. Then he saw the archer. Anger and fear bubbled in his chest, overriding any control he had. Another knife was in his hand, flying towards the archer as his prey ran. The older boy dodged but Renegade was already lunging forward, well aware that the more time he wasted on taking down the archer, the farther away the politician got. And if the target escaped then he would be punished.

The archer blocked the first blow and dodged the second, lashing out in an attempt to take Renegade's feet out from underneath him. The assassin was already leaping in the air, twisting his body so he would land behind his attacker. The archer slid under his body and lashed out, smacking Renegade across the face with his bow. Renegade bit down a pained cry with the ease that came from months of practice, months muffling his miserable sobs so that his master wouldn't punish him, and lashed out with a powerful kick. The archer twisted out of the way but Renegade couldn't care. He was too busy staring with wide eyes at the face of his former big brother and best friend.

* * *

One moment Roy was fighting for his life against the assassin, unsure if he was actually going to win or even survive, and the next he had knocked the smaller figure back with a blow that shouldn't have even connected. The assassin was staring at Roy, all color gone from his ruddy complexion. He looked as if he'd seen a ghost. The archer forced himself to move, allowing himself to loom over the smaller figure sprawled on the ground. "Who are you?" he growled. The figure's mouth moved silently, mouthing a name Roy couldn't quite catch, and then snapped shut, expression blanking. That was when Roy reached for an arrow.

The boy's whole body went stiff and his jaw went tight, teeth clenched. "They call me Renegade," the boy bit out, voice sharp and bitter. _They call me_. Like his name was something assigned to him. Like it didn't really belong to him.

"What do you call yourself?" Roy pressed, fighting to keep his voice steady, fighting to ignore the voice in his head that insisted he knew this boy. Renegade was just a lead, nothing more.

The boy let out a sharp bark of empty laughter. "I don't call myself anything." Then his foot lashed out, quick as a striking snake, and slammed into Roy's ankle. By the time the archer managed to pull himself to his feet, Renegade was long gone.

* * *

Renegade stood in the middle of his master's latest haunt in a military rest position, his head bowed. He was counting the flaws in the cheap tile, trying not to panic. He had failed. Because of his distraction the politician had escaped and it would be much more difficult to get close to the man a second time. For the moment, Renegade's master seemed content to ignore him but the young assassin knew it wouldn't last. He still ached from the last time he had failed. "What happened?" His master's voice was a dark demand and Renegade considered lying before thinking the better of it. Doubtless his master had already watched all available footage of the actual event.

"Someone informed a cape of the location of the hit," Renegade reported passionlessly, keeping his gaze on the floor. "Red Arrow was there to ambush me and by the time I was able to incapacitate him the target was long gone."

"You were defeated by a pathetic former sidekick," his master hissed, voice low and displeased. "The same one Sportsmaster can take down without thinking?" Renegade tensed as his master rose and approached him. "I trained you to be better than that boy."

There was only one correct answer for that. "Yes master."

His master circled him slowly, each footstep added to the butterflies twisting about Renegade's stomach. "You are hiding something from me." Renegade barely held in a guilty flinch. He couldn't tell his master that had had faltered because of foolish sentiment. As his master had pointed out, all his former friends had cared about _Robin_ , not him. They could care less that he was gone. They'd all moved on to bigger and better things.

"I wasn't watchful of my surroundings," he said instead, voice dead. "Because I did not notice the cape until it was too late, I jeopardized the entire mission." He forced himself to remain still under his master's scrutiny, praying to anyone who was listening that his master bought the lie. At last the man settled in front of him, one gloved hand lifting his chin. He stared back into the single blue-grey eye refusing to back down. He would not be forced to admit to his falter into becoming emotional.

"Change out of your uniform and report here in five minutes," his master ordered at last. "Then return here for your punishment."

"Yes master." Renegade turned and walked smoothly to the door.

"Don't bother with a shirt," his master ordered casually as he left. "It will only be ruined when I am finished with you." Renegade lifted his hand in acknowledgement, repressed a fearful shudder, and left his master behind to change.

* * *

"How did it go?" Artemis ambushed Roy the instant he arrived back in Starling City.

"Back off," Roy snarled at her and she glared at him, hands settling on her hips.

"I got you the information so I think I deserve to know how it went."

"Don't you have Kid Idiot to snap at or something?" Roy growled, shoving past her and into the Arrow Cave.

" _Oh no_ ," Artemis snarled as she stormed after him, their feet clanging on stainless steel steps. "You are telling me what happened or so help me God, I will make your life a living hell."

"Like you don't already," Roy retorted, ignoring Ollie's amused smirk. The older archer was dressed in casual clothing and obviously searching the news for any signs of trouble to investigate during his next patrol as Green Arrow.

"Oh believe me, I can make it worse," Artemis threatened, looking as if she was considering whether or not it would be worth it to punch him.

"Report," Ollie cut in before the blonde could decide to actually hit Roy. It wasn't the kind of command Roy could make himself ignore.

"Cheshire's information was correct," his said, fighting to make his voice emotionless. Seeing the way Ollie shifted into a defensive stance, as if he still thought he could still shield his adopted son from all the bad in the world, he could tell he was failing. "Renegade went after the politician. I stopped him from killing an innocent man. We fought."

" _And_?" Artemis pressed impatiently but Roy could see a tiny flash of worry in her steely brown eyes.

"Renegade is Robin," Roy replied. "But he isn't our friend. Not anymore."


	13. Part II, Chapter XIII

Renegade's skin was covered in blood. He ignored it as he cautiously stepped under the warm water of the shower, fighting down a cringe as the clear liquid pounded down on his torn back. The water cleaned his wounds and he scrubbed himself clean of dried blood before stepping out and carefully drying his skin with a deep red towel. Wintergreen would ensure that any bloodstains would not show when the boy was finished with it. A roll of gauze awaited him, probably left there by the man who served his master as both a butler and adviser. Renegade carefully wrapped his entire torso and secured the wrappings so they would not hinder his work. His master had already left to correct Renegade's mistake and tomorrow he too would be leaving.

"Wilson ordered me to prepare your bags," Wintergreen said the instant the boy exited the bathroom. "May I inquire as to where you are heading?"

"Starling City," Renegade replied, knowing by now that it was safe to confide mission details to the older man. "Someone has offered a large amount of money to see Green Arrow eliminated."

"And he thinks you are ready for this?" Wintergreen sounded very skeptical and just a little angry.

"It is not my place to question," Renegade said, a definite non-answer.

"No but it is mine." Wintergreen was definitely angry now but Renegade couldn't understand why. He was a nobody. People shouldn't care about him. "I will be having words with Slade. As for you, get some rest. You'll have a busy day tomorrow and the beating he just gave you won't help matters." Renegade nodded once in acknowledgement and headed silently for his bedroom, ready for the peaceful oblivion that was sleep.

* * *

One of the things Oliver Queen and Bruce Wayne had in common was their night jobs. Therefore Bruce should have known better than to contact Oliver at eight o'clock in the morning, not that the man cared. Oliver was one of the few people who knew Bruce's civilian identity, probably because they two had known each other before they'd become vigilantes and had worked together several times before the Justice League had been formed. Bruce was still searching for his wayward Robin and the original one which meant he'd been sleeping less and less as the months passed. The last time Oliver had called, Alfred Pennyworth had been threatening to knock Master Bruce out and lock him in his bedroom until the man got some proper rest. Oliver had no doubt that the elderly man could accomplish that; the rumor mill insisted Alfred was a former MI6 agent and the archer was inclined to agree with the idea.

"What?" he growled as a greeting.

"Someone put out a hit on you," Bruce said, voice rough from lack of sleep. It was just inches away from sliding into Batman's dark growl which meant the criminals of Gotham were likely shaking in their boots. Whispers from the underworld claimed the Bat hadn't been particularly merciful lately. "And its been taken by someone calling themself Renegade."

Oliver swore in Mandarin and then changed to Russian when the name of the assassin coming after him penetrated the sleepy fog in his mind. _Renegade_. "Bruce," the vigilante told the man he considered one of his best friends. "We may have a problem."

* * *

Renegade arrived in Starling City without creating a splash. After all, Richard Wilson was nothing more than a respectable citizen of a small town currently on school break. His cover story was that he was meeting his mother, Veronica Nichols, in Starling City. His master had claimed he would recognize the woman who was serving as his cover. He hadn't been lying. Helena Bertinelli smirked at him from across the airport, her dark hair lying in curls over one shoulder. "You're late," she snarled at him under her breath as her hand pinched his shoulder. Renegade allowed her to guide him through the crowd, ignoring her comment until her hand tightened further.

"Our flight was delayed," he replied, tone empty of emotion. Because he was staring straight ahead, he missed the worried look the woman shot him. Helena was only here because she owed Deathstroke a debt. Once that debt was repaid she would be content to never see or hear about the man again. Still she found herself curious about the boy. What kind of child would agree to go along with Slade Wilson's brutal training methods? She had expected the child to be angry, maybe brutal, anything but emotionless. Now she found herself making a tentative note in her mind to contact Ollie about the issue if the man survived the night.

* * *

Oliver all but exploded into the Arrow Cave, almost getting himself shot by both Roy and Artemis. The former recognized the chaotic energy seeming to pour from his mentor and moved to tape his hands up while Artemis turned back to the targets. Roy stepped smoothly into the fighting ring, knowing that Oliver wouldn't talk about what was bothering him until they were finished sparring. An hour later, when he was soaked in sweat and hitting the mat for what felt like the hundredth time, Roy began to wonder why he hadn't tried to pressure Artemis into sparring with their mentor. Oliver offered him a hand and Roy took it, allowing the older man to pull him up.

"We have a problem," Oliver announced and Artemis lowered her bow, turning to face them. "Someone has been sent to kill me."

"Oliver, people are always being sent to kill you," Felicity cut in, spinning her computer chair so she could roll her eyes at the oldest archer in the room. "That isn't exactly unusual." Roy wondered why he hadn't heard the woman come in and then decided that he'd probably been too busy fending off Ollie to notice anything else around him.

"True," Oliver admitted. "But this is different."

"I know that look," Felicity stand, springing up from her chair. "And it never leads to anything good."

" _Felicity_ ," Oliver half-growled.

"Shutting up now," came the reply as the tech genius settled back in her chair.

"Why is this time different than any of the others?" Roy questioned as Artemis moved to stand next to him.

"Because the one who claimed the assignment is Renegade."


	14. Part II, Chapter XIV

Starling City at night was an alluring spread of shimmering lights. It made Renegade uneasy. The young assassin preferred the shadows and grime of Bludhaven. He felt that the darkness matched what his soul had to be, stained and torn and worthless. Starling City was far too bright and lively to be comforting. Furthermore, he was worried that there wouldn't be enough shadows for him to blend into, enough cover to allow him to complete this job. "You look nervous." Helena's voice was smooth and almost emotionless enough to make him believe she wasn't curious about something.

"I don't worry," he said, still staring out the window of their hotel room. He didn't let even a bit of his displeasure and unease filter into his voice. He was far too well trained for that.

"I doubt that," Helena replied, arching one elegant eyebrow at him. Even dressed in blue jeans and a worn violet tank top she was still a very beautiful woman. Her eyes were also very dark, as if she'd seen much of what made the world a cruel and twisted place. He wondered absently what her story was. "I think you try not to feel," the woman continued. "Because it's safer."

"You are not here to think," Renegade retorted coldly, fighting to keep his voice level. Helena just smirked.

* * *

It was a fight for Batman to keep focused on the task at hand. Jonathan Crane had been running rampant through the streets of Gotham for the past three days and Bruce had been more focused on finding his actual son, and the clone Cadmus created of the young Dick Grayson. For so long he'd found nothing but his call to Oliver Queen that morning had changed everything. The clone was running around as Renegade, and worse yet he appeared to be connected to Deathstroke in some way. Slade Wilson was a ruthless and cunning enemy who had most likely tracked the clone down and taken advantage of the child's confusion and fear. Bruce Wayne desperately wanted to run to Starling City, to rescue the boy that had been his son just as much as the real Dick Grayson had been, but Batman had a job to do.

The Bat scanned the city, searching for Crane. As the Scarecrow, Crane spread fear and misery throughout Gotham. Often enough the Narrows rang with screams when the Scarecrow ran free. Unfortunately, tonight was suspiciously quiet. It wasn't helping that he was fighting not to slip into the Batmobile and head for Starling. His gaze fell on the vehicle and his eyes narrowed from beneath the cowl. Three of the Batmobile's tires where missing and there was a kid in a ratty red hoodie working on removing the last one. Temporarily distracted from thoughts of what was going on at Starling, Batman swung down from the rooftop towards the waiting ground below.

* * *

They were ready for Renegade, or at least as ready as they were going to get with only one day to prepare. Felicity had pulled up footage of the only fight against Renegade they knew about, though Roy could have done without seeing himself get pounded into the ground by someone half his size, and they analyzed his fighting style. They'd also used their knowledge of Starling to choose a location for their confrontation that would not result in possible civilian casualties. Oliver was settled on a rooftop of an abandoned building in the Glades, waiting for Renegade. Artemis was in an empty apartment to his left, watching for any sign of trouble, while Roy was across from her in another building.

The Glades was the poor part of Starling City. Roy had grown up there before Oliver had taken him in, had run the streets, and knew it inside and out. He also knew which direction Renegade was likely to come from. Sure enough, he caught a flicker of red just for an instant. "He's coming," Roy informed Oliver, knocking an arrow.

"Good," was the calm reply. Roy wasn't sure how Oliver could be so controlled about everything. Sure the man had spent five years on an island that was basically hell on earth and people tried to kill him when he was Green Arrow all the time but this was different. This was Robin, whether or not the clone would actually admit that he was the only Robin anyone had ever known. This was the small boy that, at the beginning of Roy's first meeting with the dynamic duo, had flung himself into Ollie's arms babbling excitedly. Roy had watched with wide eyes as Oliver had grinned, ruffled black hair, and situated the kid to settle the weight more comfortably in his arms without missing a beat. Robin had been ten at the time (actually technically he'd been a year old but none of them had known it at the time) and obviously it hadn't been the first time the boy had met Green Arrow. Roy didn't understand, in the face of all that, how Oliver could treat this as if it were just one more mission.

In contrast to their mentor's calm, both Artemis and Roy were jittery. Robin was Roy's little brother in all but blood, regardless of whether or not the boy was a clone. For Artemis, Robin had been the only member of the Young Justice team who had known the truth about her heritage and accepted her without hesitation. He'd known even before she'd told the team and yet hadn't behaved as if he felt the need to keep anything from her, besides his identity which no one on the team besides Wally knew anyway. Robin was important to both of them so neither one had taken the news about his sudden transformation into Renegade, and that his goal was to eliminate Oliver, well.

Renegade suddenly appeared out of thin air, crashing down on the sport where Oliver had been just moments before. Having somehow heard the disturbance, and Roy had long ago stopped questioning his mentor's ninja hearing, Oliver had rolled out of the way with just seconds to spare. Renegade lashed out, blade shimmering silver in the moonlight, and Oliver leaned casually away before smacking out with his bow. Renegade leaned back, obviously remembered the move from when he'd been fighting Roy. The move allowed Artemis's arrow to strike him in the shoulder. The sudden flash sent the assassin stumbling back and Oliver, who'd known what was coming, easily swept the kid's feet out from under him.

Roy winced slightly as the kid crashed hard to the ground, knowing from experience exactly how painful that movement was. Renegade brought another blade out from somewhere and this time Roy was the one who loosed an arrow, sending the knife spinning away. Renegade launched himself to his feet, scrambling back from Oliver's attack. He obviously was struggling to hold his ground against the larger man. Another blade slid out from somewhere and neither Artemis or Roy could remove it. Renegade was too close to Oliver to risk it.

The two struggled and Roy breathed out a sigh of relief when the knife went spinning across the rooftop and Renegade went down hard. Oliver pinned the smaller figure down only to have Renegade's head rear up. Their foreheads barely missed smacking together but Roy's arrow hitting the roof next to the small assassin's head kept the pinned figure still. Roy made himself watch as Oliver choked one of his best friends out, feeling as if he could breathe properly for the first time all night. They had captured Renegade. It was over.


	15. Part II, Chapter XV

Oliver Queen was bleeding from one arm. His ribs ached from a good blow the kid had gotten in when they'd been scuffling over the third blade but he ignored the pain. Instead he focused on the boy Roy and Artemis were settling on one of the two cots kept inside the Arrow Cave (he'd long ago given up arguing with Felicity over the name, especially when Dinah had started pressing the name as well). He'd met Robin for the first time a few days before the boy turned ten. He'd been expecting a miniature Batman, silent and surly, not the bright and enthusiastic acrobat the boy had been. Now he wasn't sure what to think.

To discover that the Robin he'd known was a clone had come as a shock, not just to him but to everyone who had ever met the boy. They'd been so busy being shocked and stunned, even feeling a sense of betrayal, that they hadn't even considered how the clone must have felt. They'd lost the boy because of that, left him alone for Slade Wilson to manipulate, and Oliver knew exactly how much mercy and kindness the mercenary didn't posses. He reached out to run a hand through sweaty dark hair and then headed for where he'd stowed his cell phone. Someone needed to call Bruce and let the man know that the clone was currently out of Deathstroke's hands.

* * *

Bruce Wayne was having a strange day. First he'd called to inform an old friend that an assassin called Renegade was going for the kill only to discover that Renegade was actually the clone of his adopted son. Then, after Oliver had insisted he and his team could handle the situation and bring the boy in safely without Batman's help, Bruce had struggled through the day and gone on his nightly patrol, hoping to distract himself. While he'd struck out trying to track down Scarecrow and get the psychotic man off the streets, he'd encountered another oddity. A boy of about eleven named Jason Todd had almost succeeded in stealing all four tires off the Batmobile without triggering any of the security mechanisms.

The boy was currently upstairs with Alfred because Bruce wasn't sure what else to do with him. A quick search had showed that Jason had no family left. The boy was on his own leaving on the harsh streets of Gotham and Alfred would have murdered him, Batman or not, if Bruce had left the boy there. That was, of course, when Oliver had decided to call. "We have the boy," the Starling City vigilante had said in lieu of a greeting when Bruce answered the phone. "He's unconscious at the moment but I can have him call you when he comes around."

"Be sure you do," Bruce had replied, already feeling the beginnings of a headache. His night had just gotten a lot longer.

As much of a relief as it was to know that the clone was safe, there was still the problem of finding the original. If the real Dick Grayson were still alive, and that was a huge if, then Bruce had no idea where the Light was keeping the boy. The searches of the Cadmus had come up empty, alarmingly so. The Light had wasted no time in clearing their resources away from Cadmus and any of their associates, leaving no clues behind to where they had moved all the supplies. If Dick was still alive, he hadn't been left behind. Bruce sighed and pressed his head against his hand. The coming day was definitely going to be long.

* * *

Waking up was painful but that, in and of itself, was not unusual. The beatings for failure from his master had been frequent and Renegade was used to waking up to pain. Still, the burn at his throat was new. Normally his master didn't want to leave bruises in places that might show while he was in uniform. Renegade forced his eyes open and found himself staring at a grey cement ceiling. For a moment he simply stared, uncomprehending. Then his situation slowly sank in. He could _see the ceiling_. His breath caught in his throat and he was upright before he'd truly even considered what to do, panic racing through him. This was all wrong. The ceilings at the haunt were always in shadow so that someone, or something, could lurk on the beams across them without being seen from below. Something was wrong here.

"Whoa, whoa, it's okay," a voice soothed and Renegade found himself looking into Artemis Crock's brown eyes. "You're safe."

"How-What-?" Renegade stammered, his breathing coming in sharp, painful gasps.

"It's alright," Artemis continued, using the same tone most people used to calm spooked animals. "Everything's going to be fine."

"Don't be ridiculous Crock!" Renegade startled at Roy's voice, staring warily at the person that had been his (no, _Robin's_ ) best friend and older brother once. "Everything is not going to be okay and he's knows that as much as you do."

"Well aren't you a little ray of sunshine?" Artemis snarled at him. Part of Renegade tried to laugh but it got snarled up in his throat and came out as a sob. Roy and Artemis both froze, their eyes wide. That was all it took for the small assassin to realize he'd let his emotions get the best of him. Artemis reached out, probably in an attempt to hug him, and his arms jerked up defensively as he automatically backed away. Artemis froze, eyes wide, and Roy flinched a little bit at her shoulder. Renegade forced his arms stiffly to his side and tucked his emotions away, leaving behind a blank mask.

The two archers stared at Renegade for a moment and then exchanged meaningful glances. "Robin, you shouldn't feel like you have to block us out," Artemis said, stretching out an open hand towards him. Renegade barked out a bitter laugh, trying to hide his flinch at the use of the name. Artemis appeared hurt but Roy's eyes narrowed in thought.

"You know," the older boy said after a moment. "You never did tell me what you wanted to be called?" Artemis stared at Roy as if he'd finally lost what little sanity he had left. Renegade couldn't fight back that little broken laugh that slipped free at their antics. A slow, tentative grin began to spread across Artemis's face at the sound of his crackly, underused laughter.

"I-" Renegade pulled in as deep a breath as he could and considered the question. "I don't have a name."

"Well we'll have to fix that. You can't wander around without a name. M'gann would be horrified," Artemis teased. Renegade felt a slim smile sneak onto his face and Artemis looked pleased.

"She's right," Roy agreed. "You need a name." Renegade wasn't sure what to say to that. He hadn't talked much recently other than to spit mechanical reports of missions out for his master. He wasn't much for conversation anymore. "How about Russel?" Renegade couldn't stop the skeptical look from crossing his face and he wasn't sure he wanted to.

"Are you kidding me?" Artemis all but squawked, her hands planted on her hips.

"What?" Roy shot back playfully but Renegade could tell they were both watching him out of the corner of their eyes. He didn't blame them. Renegade had killed before and would likely kill again when his master took him back. He was nothing more than a tool to be used.

"You can't call him Russel," Artemis was snapping at Roy but Renegade heard her as if she was on the other end of a long tunnel. "That's a horrible name."

"Well what were you going to suggest?" Roy's muffled voice challenged. "Kenneth?" Artemis hissed at Roy and Renegade locked his legs in an attempt not to topple over.

_"You're nothing,"_ he heard his master hiss in his ear as black spots began to consume his vision. _"Nothing to any of them. Just a tool they can use."_ That was the last thing he heard before the black consumed him.


	16. Part II, Chapter XVI

Helena Bertinelli was packing up the last of her clothing in her weekend bag when the hotel room phone rang. Renegade had not come back from his nighttime excursion. The dark haired woman hesitated a moment before picking up the receiver and pressing it to her ear. She did not speak. Instead her eyes fixed on the wall as if she could burn a hole in the tacky wallpaper through sheer willpower. "Where is the boy?" Deathstroke demanded, voice sharp and deadly. Helena's hand tightened on the phone until the cheap plastic threatened to crack.

"I don't know," she told the mercenary. "He never came back."

"You know Starling," came the reply.

"I did my job," Helena retorted, voice cold. "I'm done." Then she hung up. Two minutes later a woman with long blonde eyes and sunglasses walked out of the hotel as fast as she could manage in three inch heels. The blonde hailed a taxi which headed for the local airport once she was seated inside. The drive took ten minutes. The blonde woman paid in cash and made her way into the airport, heading for the bathroom. Exactly ten minutes later a woman with short red hair exited the bathroom and walked to one of the pay phones. Helena had a call to make before she caught her flight.

* * *

"Master Bruce-"

"Not now Alfred," Bruce replied, eyes fixed on the massive glowing screen of the Bat Cave computer.

"Master Bruce I must insist that you come up and eat something." Bruce turned a dark glare to the butler but Alfred was not fazed. He was one of the few people in the world who could meet the Batglare head on. Alfred had practically raised Bruce after the death of his parents and knew all of his charge's tricks. "Upstairs, now," Alfred ordered sternly. "If for no other reason than because Master Jason is awake and about." Bruce felt the headache of the previous night begin to return as he recalled the boy he'd brought back the night before.

"Fine," he agreed finally, standing and stretching stiff muscles. "I'll come up, but just for breakfast."

"Very good sir," Alfred agreed dryly. "Remember, no costumes upstairs." Then the elderly man turned and began the trek that would take him back upstairs into Wayne Manor.

* * *

Oliver Queen's life continually insisted on becoming more and more complicated. He'd cleaned up and bandaged wounds from the scuffle with Renegade only to find out from Artemis that the boy had woken up. "We were talking to him and everything was going as good as we could hope," Artemis had informed him. "And then he just passed out cold." She'd been forced to head home soon after in order to keep her mother from grounding her for the next thousand years. Roy, on the other hand, refused to leave the boy's side. Oliver wasn't sure he blamed the young man. The last time Robin, or Renegade or whatever the boy was going to call himself, had been left alone he'd ended up with Slade Wilson.

Oliver had headed home only to receive a call from someone he'd never thought he'd hear from again. Once, when he'd still been new to the vigilante business, he'd met a woman named Helena Bertinelli. Helena had been determined to take her father's mafia apart since he had ordered her fiance murdered and she'd been willing to destroy innocent lives to get what she wanted. Oliver had thought he'd be able to help her but he'd been wrong. Since then, Helena and himself had not gotten along well so it was a shock to hear her voice on the other end of the line.

"Wilson will be coming for the boy," she'd warned, the babble of other voices speaking to loved ones around her filtering through the phone. "And sooner rather than later. I hope you're ready for it."

"Helena?" he'd asked stupidly and gotten an exasperated sigh for his trouble.

" _Yes_. Did you hear what I just said?"

"I did," he'd confirmed.

"Good." He'd expected Helena to hang up on him but it seemed that Huntress could still surprise him. "Be careful with him, okay? He's locking away his emotions because its been safer but there's a whole lot of hurt and uncertainty under that mask and when it breaks there's going to be an explosion." Then she'd hung up before he'd been able to think of something else to say. Oliver hadn't bothered to call back. He knew Helena wouldn't be there to answer the phone.

Now he was standing at the door to the Arrow Cave, trying to get his emotions under control. It wouldn't be good for Roy or Robin to see how uncertain and worried he was about this whole affair. Especially if Helena was right about the emotional state of the clone. He descended to the sound of low voices murmuring to one another. The clone was awake and Roy was talking to him. The boy was responding from time to time but it was one word answers, his face terrifyingly blank. "Robin?" Oliver questioned and the boy flinched slightly. Roy shot his mentor an irritated glare.

The auburn haired archer opened his mouth to snap at Oliver only to be beat to the punch by the tiny figure seated next to him. "I don't go by that anymore. I never should have."

"Why?" Oliver asked, arching an eyebrow at the boy.

"Because it was _his mother's_ name for _him_ ," the boy spat out, expression twisting for a moment before he gained control again.

"Okay," Oliver agreed to avoid riling up the boy further. "So what should we call you?" The boy glanced down at the floor again and Roy shot his mentor a helpless look.

"I don't know," the boy said at last, voice whisper soft. The emptiness in his voice scaring the older archer.

"We'll think of something," Roy cut in, nudging the boy's shoulder with his own. "Worse comes to worse, we'll have M'gann help since she named Superboy." The clone's lips twitched slightly, almost as if he wanted to smile. His emotions weren't completely under control then. Things could leak out. That much, at least, was promising. It meant that maybe they could break down the wall the boy was hiding behind.

"Hello? Anyone down here?" Felicity's voice startled the clone and the boy actually shied behind Roy as the blonde woman entered the room. "How did everything go?"

"Everything's fine," Oliver reassured her and she grinned at him.

"Good. Are you guys hungry because I brought lunch?" She gestured with one of the white paper bags, holding it up as if it were some kind of treasure. Behind Oliver, Roy snickered. Felicity turned to glare playfully at the young man and then froze. Her wide eyes were fixed on the clone who was mostly hidden behind Roy. "Who's this?"

"This is..." Oliver trailed off, uncertain on how to introduce the clone.

"Renegade," the boy cut in softly, looking at the floor. Felicity's eyes widened further.

"Are you crazy Oliver?" she snapped at him. "You let the person trying to _kill you_ in your super secret lair?"

"Technically he's already been here," Oliver said patiently. Felicity let out a squawk and turned towards Roy.

"You agreed to this?" she demanded.

"Yes," Roy said, using the same voice one would use to talk to a small child. Felicity's face began to turn a furious scarlett as she glanced back and forth between the two men.

"What is going on here?" she asked finally, throwing her hands in the air.

"Have they told you about the clones?" Renegade asked softly and Felicity's head snapped around to look at him. The blonde nodded and the clone smiled at her, a bitter little smile. "I'm Robin's copy."


	17. Part II, Chapter XVII

Felicity seemed stunned by the clone's admission. She'd sputtered pointlessly, waving her arms a bit before shoving the food bags into Oliver's arms and sinking down in her computer chair. "Can somebody please explain what's going on?" she asked plaintively, glancing between Roy and Oliver. Oliver ignored her glancing in both the bags before tossing Roy one. " _Oliver_ ," Felicity pressed, folding her arms over her chest and giving him her best glare.

"When we figure everything out we'll let you know," Oliver informed her. Felicity sighed and pressed her hands to her forehead for a minute before lifting her head and smiling.

"So, what's your name?" Felicity asked the clone. "I mean we can't call you Renegade anymore. Not if you're one of the good guys." The clone's shoulders hunched in as he tried to make himself smaller. "Did I say something wrong?"

"I don't have a name," the clone told her, voice empty.

"Well that won't do," Felicity informed him and earned herself a slim smile.

"So everyone keeps saying."

"Artemis and I were brainstorming a little last night," Roy cut in, nudging the clone again and managing to get an almost smile. "But we couldn't come up with anything good."

"Probably because you started with _Russel_ ," Artemis called as she entered the Arrow Cave, grinning at Felicity's disgusted facial expression. "By the way," she added to the clone. "Zatanna wants to to talk to you." Renegade opened his mouth, probably to ask why Zatanna would want to talk to him, and then flinched as Oliver's fist hit a wall.

"What?" Roy asked, suddenly alert and tense.

"I promised the Bat I'd have you call when you woke," Oliver said. Renegade cringed a little, then steeled himself and nodded. Oliver handed over a phone, trusting the boy to still know the correct number, and then motioned to the others. "We'll give you some privacy."

* * *

Bruce Wayne picked up the phone on the first ring, his hands trembling slightly. The man had just returned to the Batcave after lunch, finally manage to escape Alfred's stern gaze so that he could get some work done instead of awkwardly making his way around vague explanations to Jason. He missed Dick. The thirteen year old (no, he'd have just turned fourteen now) was better with people than Bruce could ever be. "Yes," he said into the phone and listened to the shallow intake of breath on the other end of the line.

"Hello," Robin's voice said at last and for the first time since this whole mess had began, Bruce felt like he could breathe a little easier.

"So you're safe," Bruce managed to get out, mind fumbling for words.

"Yeah," Robin replied awkwardly. Bruce found himself longing for the easy conversation the boy had provided before they'd both discovered he was a clone. "Any luck finding the real deal?" He sounded tired, worn thin by life.

"No," Bruce told him, voice heavy with the weight of failure. They both were silent for a long minute, neither one quite sure what to say. "Call if you think of anything that might help us find the original," Bruce said at last and by the clone's sharp intake of breath he knew it was the wrong thing to say.

"Yeah," the boy replied. "Sure."

"Stay safe," the man managed to get out before the clone hung up the phone.

* * *

When Artemis re-entered the Arrow Cave after a quick trip home, she found Felicity and Roy debating names. Renegade was watching them from his position on a cot, a half eaten hamburger resting on his lap and a bemused look on his face. "So what's going on?" Artemis asked as Felicity mulled over the name Eric. Renegade shrugged at her, bemused look not leaving. "Have they come up with anything good?"

"No," Renegade murmured. Both Roy and Felicity made offended noises at that. Artemis giggled, then reached forward, towards his mask.

"May I?" she asked hesitantly. The boy considered before glancing nervously at Oliver.

"Do you trust her?" Artemis was strangely honored when he nodded. "Fine," Oliver said, before turning to Artemis. "Not a word of his identity leaves your mouth. Do you understand?"

"I promise," Artemis agreed. Then she reached out and carefully removed the mask. Artemis found herself staring at big blue eyes. "Hello there," she said with a soft smile. Renegade's eyes smiled back at her.

"Adam?" Felicity threw out. Artemis watched curiously as Renegade considered it and then saw the denial in his eyes even before he shook his head. After a moment she stepped back and sat down next to him.

Renegade wasn't the boy Artemis had known. Robin had been vivacious and energetic. Compared to the boy she'd known, Renegade was almost a whole new person. He was definitely more subdued than Robin, more easily controlled. He had been broken, turned into a pet for Deathstroke to drag around on a leash and she knew, just by looking at his face, that he knew it.

"Damian." The name spilled out from her mouth over Felicity and Roy's squabbling.

"What?" Renegade actually seemed curious as he turned to look at her.

"Damian," she repeated with a smile. "It's Greek. Means something like 'to subdue'." Renegade considered it, head tilting to one side and blue eyes narrowing in thought. They all waited, completely silent.

"I like it," the clone said at last and Artemis grinned at him.

"Damian it is then," Artemis said cheerfully.

* * *

Slade Wilson arrived in Starling City under his own name. Most would have called that a stupid decision. After all, Oliver Queen already knew who Deathstroke really was behind the mask and would surely be watching for him. Slade did not care. The man had taken away his apprentice and had probably destroyed all the work Slade had put in to make the boy obedient to him. The death of Green Arrow at Renegade's hands had been carefully chosen to cut off all of the boy's possible ties to the Justice League and completely alienate him from those that might rescue him. The failure of this mission and, more importantly, Renegade's capture by Green Arrow, ruined all of that. Slade was in Starling to either call the boy back or kill him. There would be no middle ground.


	18. Part II, Chapter XVIII

Roy, Felicity, and Artemis were chatting with the newly christened Damian when Oliver started snarling at the computer screen. He'd been searching for any sign of Deathstroke so they all silenced, bodies going tense. "Wilson just arrived here," Oliver hissed and Felicity was suddenly spinning around to type something on the nearest computer, probably trying to locate the mercenary. "He used his real name to fly into Starling City."

"He wants you to know he's coming," Damian spoke up, his voice suddenly dead and cold. Renegade was back.

"Why?" Artemis asked as Roy slipped an arm around Damian's stiff shoulders.

"He's trying to manipulate us somehow," Oliver answered, voice absent as he and Felicity began scanning security cameras trying to figure out where Slade had gone. "He wants us to behave a certain way, to fall straight into his trap."

"He has a warehouse in the Glades." Damian's voice showed nothing of the turmoil he must have been feeling. When the others turned and stared at him, Damian added, "I know where all of his haunts are. It was a security measure just in case something went wrong."

"This warehouse," Oliver said and Roy tried not to groan at his mentor's voice tone. Whatever was coming next was going to get them into trouble. "How well guarded is it?"

"You want to know how difficult it would be to get inside?"

"Yes."

"With my help it should be simple." Damian was studying Oliver almost curiously, some of his emotional blankness fading away now that the boy suspected the man had a plan. "Why?"

"Sooner or later Wilson will head for his haunt to plan or gather what supplies he might need that are not easily transported by plane," Oliver replied. "And when he shows up, we're going to be there."

* * *

Jason Todd felt lost. When his parents had still been alive they'd lived in a small apartment in the Narrows. They'd been low on money and that had, ultimately, led to their deaths. Once his mother, Catherine, was gone Jason had run rather than be handed over to the tender mercy of the system. Kids from the Narrows were never placed in good homes by Social Services and if Jason were lucky he would have been placed in a group home with too many mouths to feed until he turned eighteen. Instead he'd made a living on the streets, surviving by doing the sorts of things that would get him tossed into juvie and then into a trashy group home if he was ever caught. He survived. And then he'd tried to steal the tires off the Batmobile.

Jason wasn't sure what he'd expected when Batman had come swooping down from a nearby rooftop. He hadn't expected to be informed, calmly, that he would be putting all the tires back. He hadn't been expecting, when it turned out that putting tires on was harder than removing them, the Bat to help him replace them. Somewhere along the line his life story had spilled out and at the end of the night he'd ended up in the Batcave. That was when the real revelation arrived.

Batman was Gotham's Prince, playboy and billionaire Bruce Wayne. Jason Todd wasn't sure whether or not to be amused or awed. Before he truly realized what was going on, he found himself upstairs in Wayne Manor with Wayne's butler, Alfred Pennyworth. It had been a confusing day and it was turning out to be a confusing life. The fact that Alfred had gone downstairs to the Batcave and all but frog marched Wayne upstairs to eat, not allowing him back into the cave until after lunch, wasn't helping matters. That was when a woman with dark brown hair, vivid green eyes, and warm brown skin marched into the kitchen where Jason and Alfred were.

"Where is Bruce?" she demanded. She had some kind of accent, maybe middle eastern, that flavored every word issuing from her mouth.

Alfred studied her for a moment and then said, "I'll fetch him for you." The woman nodded and Alfred marched out of the kitchen, probably to go to the Batcave. The woman then turned to study Jason, judgement in her green eyes. He met them head on, refusing to look away. After a minute she began to smirk. Her attention was drawn away when Wayne all but flew into the room.

"Talia." His voice was wary, as if he were not certain her being here was a good thing.

"Bruce," she replied levelly. "I bring word around your son."

* * *

They suited up and headed for the Glades, Felicity muttering in their ears. Damian had given her the address of the warehouse and she was helping guide them while watching security cameras around the place for any sign of Wilson. The last time they'd found the man on camera he'd been seeking an audience he would no doubt get with one of the mob leaders in Starling. That meant they had a good chance of arriving at the warehouse before Deathstroke did. Beside Roy, Damian's eyes were narrowed in concentration. His entire body was tensed, ready for an attack from any side.

They arrived at the warehouse without running into trouble and Damian hacked his way through security, allowing them to get in without setting off any alarms. "Its very...dark," Artemis said as they stepped into the building, footsteps echoing on cement flooring. Roy snorted at that and he knew by the way some of the tension drained out of Oliver's shoulders that the older man was smiling.

"That's hardly unusual," Damian said, heading purposefully towards a door halfway across the warehouse.

"So what exactly are we looking for?" Roy asked.

"An ambush spot he won't suspect," Damian answered, typing a code on the touchpad at the door.

The door hissed open and the boy led his uncertain and wary crew through just as Felicity announced, "Wilson's heading your way."


	19. Part II, Chapter XIX

He let Talia al'Ghul into the Batcave. Bruce wasn't sure whether it had been the best choice but he knew he wanted to have this conversation where Jason couldn't hear it. The boy was already tangled up in Batman enough without the Light coming after him for something he didn't understand. Talia glanced around the cave for a moment, her interest clear in her green eyes. Then she turned to focus on him. "You've been looking for your real boy, correct?" she questioned.

"Yes," Bruce replied, watching her warily.

"The Light has failed and my father sees no worth in keeping the boy's location a secret from high ranking members of our society," Talia told him. "I see no reason to keep information from you. After all, if I were being kept from my father he would stop at nothing to find me even if it meant destroying everything in his path."

"How do I know I can trust you?" Bruce demanded and Talia smiled at him.

"You don't." Bruce considered her, considered all the previous interactions between himself and Talia, and then slid into his well worn computer chair.

"Tell me."

* * *

"He's coming through the front door," Felicity informed them. Roy and Oliver were hidden on the floor of what appeared to be a large computer room while Artemis and Damian were tucked away in the shadows on the ceiling. "He's inside. I can't help you anymore."

"We're fine Felicity," Oliver murmured. It would be the last thing he would be able to say to her until this mess with Wilson was over. Slade entered the room and settled at the bank of waking computers. Oliver glanced up slightly, searching for Damian and Artemis worriedly. If Slade had active security cameras they'd be caught before they could even hope to catch the man by surprise. He could only hope that Damian had thought that far ahead.

"You may as well come out," Wilson said, his voice echoing through the room as he continued to look at the screens. "I can hear you breathing." Roy twitched a little but Oliver motioned for him to stay. Then the original vigilante of Starling City stepped out into the open. "Ah, Oliver Queen. I've been expecting you." Oliver could see the smirk that no doubt spread across the man's face as he spoke.

"Why are you in my city?" Oliver growled.

"You know why I'm here," came the smooth reply and Wilson spun the chair around so they were looking at one another. "You have something of mine."

"The boy is not someone's belonging," Oliver retorted. "He is his own person."

"He's a clone designed by the Light to be nothing more than a useful tool." Oliver knew that Slade was trying to get a response but it took all his willpower not to lash out the man. It didn't help that Damian, with his shattered self-confidence and all his emerging self-worth issues, could hear every word.

"I want you gone Wilson," he hissed and Slade chuckled.

"And you came alone. Do I need to remind you what happened last time the two of us fought?"

"He didn't come alone," Roy cut in, stepping into view. The younger archer had an arrow knocked and his eyes never strayed from Slade's casual form.

"Well isn't this sweet," the mercenary mocked. "Master and apprentice together again. Are you back to being Starling City's dynamic duo? Playing second fiddle to Queen again boy?"

"I am no one's _sidekick_ ," Roy snarled, whole body a tense line. Oliver was extremely proud of the fact that Roy hadn't attacked the mercenary yet. "Oliver is family and I am here because he asked me to come." Roy lifted the bow and drew the string back so the fletching of his arrow was resting against his cheek. "I'll always come when my family calls."

Deathstroke caught the arrow in thin air with a low laugh. "How sweet," the man mocked, still trying to get under Roy's skin. "But your childish sentiments won't help you here." The arrow snapped in the mercenary's grip and the pieces were allowed to drop to the floor with a clatter. "Not when the fact remains that the pair of you cannot defeat me."

"They didn't come alone." Artemis's voice echoed from the ceiling but the blonde was smart enough not to descend. "Sorry to rain on your parade."

"She's spent way too much time around Robin and Wally," Roy muttered. Oliver didn't have a chance to respond to that comment, because if anyone had spent way too much time around Robin and Wally it was Roy, before Deathstroke lashed out. Oliver dodged the knife and Roy scrambled back a couple steps, reaching for another arrow. Artemis shot an arrow from the shadows but Deathstroke sidestepped and it smacked into the ground. Oliver and Roy were already moving, Roy firing off an arrow and Oliver lunging for the mercenary.

Wilson managed to dodge the arrow but Oliver tackled him to the ground. The two tumbled apart without hesitation, Oliver knowing he needed a little space if he was going to take Slade down. He dodged the first punch with ease and let the second one hit his shoulder, muscles relaxed to allow to force to disperse. The man's mask hid his facial expressions so Oliver was forced to rely solely on body language to try to predict his opponent's motions. He knew that both Roy and Artemis would have arrows knocked and eyes set on Deathstroke. They would be waiting for any opportunity Oliver could give them. That was when the computer started laughing.

A grinning face appeared on every single screen as if mocking Slade. Then information began flowing across them faster than a human eye could follow. Slade let out a roar of fury and lunged towards the screens. Roy and Artemis both unleashed arrows that had him dodging back, buying Damian more time to finish whatever he was working on. The mercenary had just shoved the computer chair aside when the screens went black. Oliver didn't have to see the Wilson's face the known the man was furious.

Then, abruptly, some of the tension melted away from his form. Wilson was still ready for battle but something had obviously occurred to him, some sort of plan. "You may as well come out child," the mercenary called. "You cannot hide from me in here." Then the mercenary reached underneath the computer console and pressed a button. There was an ominous groaning sound and the room suddenly locked itself down, a solid metal sheet covering each door. If Oliver had the time, he knew they had the supplies to break out but he doubted Wilson would give them that time.

Damian emerged from the shadows, dropping to the ground with Artemis landing protectively in front of him. The holocomputer on his wrist glowed a pale blue that would have been visible in the shadows of the rafters only if you knew what you were looking for. His face was completely blank as he surveyed Slade. "So nice to see you again," Slade mocked and Oliver watched the boy's frame go tense.

"Don't talk to him," Artemis snarled, drawing an arrow out of her quiver. Slade chuckled, the cold laugh bouncing off the ceiling and echoing back to them. Damian slid a little further behind Artemis and tapped something on the screen. Then he relaxed slightly and banished the computer with a flick of his wrist.

"What was your plan?" the boy asked, voice loud in the tense silence.

"Why don't you tell me?" The mercenary's tone was that of a teacher speaking to a student and it made Oliver bristle. In his mind, Damian only had one teacher and that was Bruce.

"You came into the airport under you own name, meaning you wanted us to know you were here. Furthermore, you knew that I knew where your haunt in Starling was so you had to have expected us to be here." Damian paused and Oliver just knew his eyes were narrowing behind his mask. "The only thing I don't understand is the visit to the local mafia. It could be some kind of distraction to make us believe that it wasn't your plan to trap us here but I doubt it."

"Very good," Wilson mocked. "Working your way through it, just like you've been taught. It's nice to know the flying rodent was good for something."

Oliver knew he wasn't the only one seething at the slight towards Batman. More surprising was how calmly Damian reacted. In fact, Oliver could have sworn that the boy was smiling. "Speaking of Batman, you seem to have forgotten something," Damian announced calmly. "I have a direct line to the Cave for emergencies only and I am fairly certain this counts as an emergency."


	20. Part II, Chapter XX

Bruce Wayne sat alone in the Cave staring at the glowing screen of the giant computer. He felt like a fool. He had discovered that Ra's al'Ghul was part of the Light months ago but he had never thought to ask the man or any of his more important lackeys where the real Dick Grayson was being kept. He had been blinded by confusion, betrayal, and worry, unable to function as he should have. His blindness could have cost him both his sons, the boy he had raised and the one he had saved from the disaster at the circus, had Talia not decided to bring him information. Now his gaze from beneath his cowl was locked upon the warehouse she had marked on the digital map of Gotham.

"My father has been keeping the original here for about three months," she had informed him, no emotion in her silky voice. "Doubtless he will move the child soon so you had best act accordingly." The she had turned on her heel and walked away. Bruce had not tried to stop her. Talia could show herself to the door and Alfred would have, no doubt, sent Jason to a safe location.

He had gone the work the moment he knew she was gone, bringing up as much information about that particular warehouse as he could. Even now footage from several security cameras was playing in real time in small windows at the bottom of the screen. Part of him was insisting that he leave this very instant and get his son back but Bruce knew better. He would have to memorize the entire layout and the guard shifts before he could even consider a rescue mission that might be successful.

In the middle of his contemplation the screen suddenly went black. Bruce became perfectly still, suddenly worried. A moment later a new map was on the screen, the window opening over all the others, and a red blinking dot appeared over a single location. Bruce stared for a moment, uncomprehending. What was this? A sudden realization struck him with the force of an eighteen wheeler. _Robin's distress code._ The clone had been fed the original's memories by Cadmus and would know the code just as the original did. That the boy would activate it now, after Bruce had unintentionally hurt him, was not a good sign. Batman stood and headed for the Batmobile. Rescuing his first son was going to have to wait. He was needed now, in Starling City.

* * *

The distress beacon was a last ditch attempt to end this situation in their favor. Dick Grayson had been forced to memorize the correct code to activate it from any computer before Bruce had even considered letting him outside (though the code hadn't done the original any good when the Light had snatched him). Unfortunately Damian was uncertain whether or not Batman would come, or even if he would see that the distress beacon had been activated. It could be hours before Bruce descended into the Batcave and by then Oliver, Roy, and Artemis would be dead and Damian would be trapped, forced once again to bend under his master's unbreakable will. The very thought of that made him feel sick all the way down to the core of his being, made him wish he'd remained in the shadows and tried to use the hacked computer to undo the lock down protocol. Now it was too late to do that.

Despite the bravado filled speech Damian had delivered, he felt anything but certain about that outcome and he had no doubt that his master already knew this. He could almost see the wicked smirk hidden behind the two color mask. "The Bat isn't coming for you boy."

"You don't know that," Roy snarled and Artemis had gone stiff with anger in front of Damian. He knew, even without looking at her face, that her brown eyes were blazing. "Batman's his father."

"Batman is father to the original, not this one," the mercenary replied dismissively. "The clone knows the truth. Just ask him."

Artemis turned to face him and Damian met her eyes head on. "Batman isn't coming," he told her, fighting to keep his voice steady and his face emotionless. "Maybe he'll show up eventually, but it's already going to be too late." He felt the truth of his words like a punch to the gut. It hurt so badly to admit, as much as he could manage, that he wasn't anyone's child. He still couldn't understand why Artemis, Oliver, and Roy wanted him around, still believed it was because they thought he could lead them to the original. "There's no shame in walking away," he added, voice finally becoming completely void of emotion. The sound of it made him feel more in control of the situation, more stable. Safer. "This is between my master and I. No one else."'

" _No_ ," Artemis denied, sounding incredibly distressed by the whole situation. "No it isn't. We're here for you." Damian breathed in and then out, reminded himself that he was Renegade and not Damian, and did not flinch from her gaze.

"I don't know where the real Robin is." Artemis stared at him, uncomprehending, and Roy made a strangled noise from across the room.

"You don't- We're not- Why can't you understand?" she sputtered and finally managed to spit out. "We didn't want you here because we thought you could take us to Robin. We wanted you here because you're _you._ "

"Then you don't understand," Renegade replied. "Because I'm not really anyone."

* * *

There were men with guns outside the warehouse. The street was crawling with them. Some paced impatiently, a few smoked. They seemed to be waiting for someone because every so often their eyes turned towards the door. Batman studied them and then turned his gaze to the rooftop. That was how he planned to get into the warehouse. It would allow him to bypass the armed men and would mean less time his son spent trapped with whoever owned the warehouse. It was probably Deathstroke. Batman knew of the mercenary's reputation but he didn't care. It was _his son_ in there and Batman was going to help him.

Batman flew like a dark cloud over the heads of the men and landed smoothly on the roof, making his way to the hatch settled squarely in the center. He picked the padlock on it in less than a minute and made his way into the shadows. Then entire haunt seemed shut down, which worried Batman. It was quite possible that Deathstroke had put the whole place on lock down which would make it more difficult to get to his son. Still Batman was nothing if not resourceful and determined.

He followed the GPS in the screen in his glove, carefully making his way through the warehouse towards where his son was waiting for him. Honestly, Bruce wasn't sure whether or not the boy actually thought he was coming. It was painful to consider but he had to admit that he'd been less than kind to his son the last time they'd spoken, something he hoped to correct as soon as this mess was over. He finally found himself in front of a door that, when tested, seemed to be locked. Batman, out of patience and ready for action, broke the lock.

* * *

Artemis looked almost as if she wanted to cry. The emotional part of Renegade that had come alive in the past couple days wanted badly to comfort her but he refused to. Becoming emotionally attached to people would only result in more pain later. He'd learned that the moment he'd discovered he wasn't real. "You can't mean that," the girl protested. Renegade opened his mouth to respond when something clattered outside their locked down room. All heads slowly turned towards the doorway, Renegade going tense with uncertainty.

"Good for nothing mafia," his master growled, storming towards the computer. Renegade watched as the mercenary tapped a couple keys on the computer keyboard before remembering that his student had shut it down. "Renegade," came the sharp snap. "Turn the systems back on."

"Yes master," Renegade replied hollowly and with a minute of tapping on his holocomputer the screens came back to life. His master tapped out a code and Renegade watched blankly as the covering over one of the doors began to lift. What was standing on the other side stunned them all.

" _Damian_ ," Artemis hissed, her voice surprised and delighted. " _Damian, it's Batman_." Damian could only stare in stunned surprise. Batman had actually come? He hadn't thought he was anything more than a tool to the man but maybe he'd been wrong. "I told you," Artemis continued with an earnest grin. "We actually care about _you_." Damian nodded hesitantly, beginning to wonder if she was telling the truth, and then turned toward his master. Just by looking at the man's posture, the boy could tell that the mercenary was absolutely furious.

The situation was not looking good for the mercenary. Even with his superior strength and ability to heal from nearly anything, he was surrounded by capes. " _Renegade_ ," his master barked. Damian twitched a little but forced himself to stay still. He knew what would happen if he went back to his master. He'd been down that path before and wasn't eager to return to that pain. He wasn't certain whether this option would be any better but the time he'd spent away from his master had given him hope. _"Renegade."_ There was a deadly warning in the name his master had given him but Damian refused to listen.

"No," he said, voice firm. That was all it took.

Afterwords, Damian couldn't be certain how exactly Deathstroke escaped. Oliver, Roy, and Bruce had taken his refusal to bend to his master's will as permission and attacked. Somehow the mercenary had escaped them all and fled into the shadows, leaving them alone in his haunt. Damian doubted the man would ever return to it. Instead, it would probably burn down in a mysterious fire or something of the sort in a few days. Such events were far from uncommon in the Glades. The boy wasn't sure he cared because, for the first time since he'd been created, he was free.

**End Part Two**


	21. Part III, Chapter XXI

The Arrow Cave was getting crowded and honestly, Oliver wasn't sure he cared. Roy, Artemis, and Damian were curled together on one of the medical cots. The young boy was sandwiched between his two older friends and with his mask off Oliver could see that his blue eyes were bemused. Batman had settled on the other cot, Felicity was staring with wide eyes from her position at the computer chair, and Oliver found himself leaning in the doorway watching it all. They'd escaped Wilson's haunt with no more than bruises which, in Green Arrow's opinion was nothing short of a miracle.

"Are you hurt?" Batman's focus was entirely on Damian and the small boy squirmed uncomfortably before shaking his head. "Good." The naked relief in the Bat's voice made Damian's brow furrow until Artemis nudged him pointedly with a bony elbow. He frowned and rubbed his ribs but his expression cleared. "Look," Batman continued, sounding more like Bruce Wayne than Gotham's Dark Knight. "I'm sorry about what I said earlier. I wasn't thinking."

"It's okay," Damian replied softly, looking down at the floor, and after a moment Batman nodded.

"I've been told where the Light are holding Dick Grayson," Batman said after a minute of awkward silence. "Talia al'Ghul's father is one of the members the organization and was placed in charge of storing Dick. He's being kept in a warehouse in Gotham, at least as of last night." Damian shrank into himself some as the others considered the information.

"Do you want help storming the castle?" Oliver asked, already knowing the answer. Batman didn't like any heroes in Gotham, meta or not.

"It would not go amiss." Oliver found himself staring at Bruce as if the man had grown another head. Damian's blue eyes were wide from where he was sandwiched between his two friends.

"Did you just invite other heroes into Gotham?" the boy asked, meeting Batman's eyes for the first time since the Dark Knight had shown up in Starling City. The boy tilted his head slightly, eyes narrowing slightly. "Are you the real Batman?" In answer, Bruce pushed the cowl back to reveal his face. Steely blue-grey eyes met Damian's deeper blue ones and the two seemed to communicate silently. Finally Damian nodded. "Plan?" the boy inquired.

"Come with me."

* * *

The Cave hadn't changed much in the months Damian had been gone. Bats still squeaked on the ceiling and the lighting was still, in most places, dim. It felt like home. The boy felt tension he hadn't known was still lingering slide off his shoulders. He was safe. Artemis, Roy, and even to a certain extent, Oliver were scanning their surroundings but Damian's eyes were drawn to the one anomaly in the room. A glass case in the back wall held the uniform he'd discarded on the floor of his room at Mount Justice. He crossed the room in silent strides to press a trembling hand against the glass. There was a small gold colored label on the bottom of the case that said only two words; _Beloved Son_. His throat grew tight.

Damian twitched as a heavy hand settled on his shoulder squeezing lightly. "I did not know what name you had chosen," Bruce murmured, low enough that only the boy would hear. "But I wanted to do something to honor a lost child, especially since I was not sure if he would ever come home."

"Thank you," Damian managed to force through the lump in his throat, tears prickling at the corners of his eyes. The hand squeezed his shoulder again and then Bruce turned towards the computer. Damian lingered a moment longer before joining him. Camera feed was everywhere across the screen and Damian's eyes darted across them calmly, taking everything in and trying to orient himself. Behind him, Artemis and Roy were both gaping while Oliver's brow furrowed in concentration.

"From what I can tell, the guard shifts every five minutes. There's a minute gap between the shifts, at best," Batman explained. "So getting through without alerting anyone to our presence is going to be difficult."

"Difficult?" Artemis asked skeptically. "Try _nearly impossible_."

"Difficult," Batman and Damian reiterated as one. The boy couldn't stop his grin at Artemis's irritated look and the blonde's answering smile was warming.

"Robin and I have faced more difficult challenges," Batman continued. Damian twitched a little bit at the mention of his alter ego, the one he'd stolen from the real Dick Grayson, and realized with some shock that it didn't hurt as much when Bruce used it. "The timing will have to be perfect so when I say to move, you move. Is that understood?"

"Yes," Roy and Artemis chimed in synch before glaring at one another. Damian would have snickered but a sudden blinding pain was winding its way through his skull. It felt almost as if something were trying to escape via his brain. He whimpered, a hand rising to clutch at his forehead. Distantly he heard Artemis calling his name but his mind was already far away as he toppled to the floor.

* * *

_He was alone in a test tube of a sort. It was growing smaller as he continued to grow, muscles becoming cramped and uncomfortable. Every little shift brought tears of pain to his eyes and the transport months earlier had bruised him all over. Those who captured him didn't care. Aside from some of the genomorphs who were curious about him, no one paid him any attention. No one realized that he was more awake than asleep anymore. A sudden familiar mind brushed against his and Dick Grayson felt a spark of hope overwhelm him. Could rescue finally be coming?  
_

_Dick had almost given up hope of rescue. It had been so long since he'd been taken and almost as long since he'd felt the mind of his twin. When Cadmus had cloned the young acrobat they'd also created a psychic link between Dick and the clone. It had been the first time they'd cloned a human, after all, and they'd wanted to be sure they'd get an exact replica. The psychic link was meant to ensure that Dick's new twin would be a perfect copy._

_Dick reached out as best he could towards the familiar mind and_ pulled _. There was pain, initially_ _but the boy was accustomed to pain. Ever since he'd grown almost too big for the tube and Cadmus had refused to notice he'd been in constant discomfort. Contact was a sudden well of knowledge for both of them, almost forcing their brains to shut down. After all, it had been so, so long since they'd been able to talk._


	22. Part III, Chapter XXII

_Dick was overwhelmed with memories. Everything his clone had seen and done in their years apart flooded him, making his body fight against the restraints of his containment tube as he struggled to assimilate all the new information. Arkham breakouts, team building sessions, conversations with Bruce, and even the boy's six months with Deathstroke all poured into his mind. Dick shook under the onslaught and then relaxed slowly as it ended._ "Damian?" _Dick probed curiously, wondering if his double was still around. He could feel the barest tendril of Damian's mind and he seized it, pulling as hard as he could._ "Damian are you still there?"

"Dick?" _came the cautiously hopeful response. Dick could feel that the other boy was just as overwhelmed by memories as Dick had been. While the original had been recieving the clone's memories, the clone had been receiving the original's._

"Yeah," _Dick answered, taking a moment just to savor the suddenly live connection between the pair of them. It had been so, so long since he'd felt whole._ "I've missed you. It's been so quiet around here with you gone."

"The genomorphs?" _Damian questioned._

"Psimon has been keeping them away. Ever since he discovered I could communicate with them when you weren't around I have been alone. You should know that."

"There's a lot of memories to sort through." _Damian sounded indignant. Dick giggled, knowing the sound would not escape his mouth._

"There are," _Dick agreed. The acrobat forced himself to move on to more important matters. He needed to know what was going on._ "What happened with the Light?"

"I discovered what I was too late to stop them from infecting the Justice League," _Damian said, sounding guilty._ "Roy and I managed to escape and bring the Young Justice League to rescue them but it was still problematic. I'm not quite sure about the repercussions. I kind of ran away during the aftermath."

"It's okay," _Dick reassured the other boy._ "You were scared and confused. And everything worked out okay. There's only one thing I'm confused about. Who's Roy?"

_This time it was Damian who laughed._ "Roy is Red Arrow."

"Huh?"

"Speedy? You know, Oliver Queen's sidekick."

"Oh," _Dick replied._ "Got it." _Suddenly a presence invaded Dick's mind, making the acrobat cry out in pain._ "Damian run!" _Dick screamed but it was already too late. The telepath that had invaded Dick's mind was racing back down the link towards the clone, making them both cry out in pain and fear._

"Oh my," _Psimon's voice mocked._ "Naughty, naughty children. We can't have you communicating." _A wave of pain washed over them in agonizing waves and they shrieked in unison. In a blind panic, Dick felt Damian lash out. This time it was Psimon who screamed. Dick felt the telepath's recede but a terrible feeling of foreboding washed over him._

"Damian," _Dick whimpered out, hearing shouts outside his tube._ "I think we have a problem."

"Tell me about it," _came the wry reply._

"No!" _Dick protested._ "Damian you have to come! They're moving me."

* * *

Damian jolted awake with a frightened cry, chest heaving. " _Damian!_ " Artemis cried, leaping out of her chair and scrambling over to him. "Are you okay?" Roy was right behind her and both Oliver and Bruce were suddenly standing in the doorway.

"I'm fine." Damian waved her off, stomach churning with fear as he forced himself into a sitting position, perched tensely on the edge of the medical cot he'd been placed on. "We need to go. _Now_."

"Why?" Artemis pressed. "What's going on?"

"They're moving Dick," Damian replied.

"How do you know?" Bruce rumbled.

"I'm not sure," Damian said. "I think..." He trailed off and bit his lip, uncertain. "I think we have a psychic link. We were connected and then Psimon broke in. They're moving Dick because we got caught."

"Then we need to move now," Bruce ordered. The others nodded, already heading for weapons, but Damian hesitated. He'd been wearing the Renegade uniform even though he'd been rescued but somehow it just felt wrong to wear it when they were going to save Dick. His eyes fell on the case with his uniform inside. He glanced curiously at Batman, who nodded at him, and then crossed the room, his footsteps lighter than they'd been in months.

He found the latch by touch alone and carefully opened it, hesitating a moment before removing the colorful outfit. A quick change revealed that he had grown relatively little during the six months as Renegade so the uniform still fit well. It was nice to have a cape again after Renegade's capeless garb, more natural feeling. It just seemed right. Artemis grinned at the costume change and Roy gave him a quick thumbs up before they were rushing out of the Cave. It was far past time to bring Dick Grayson home.

* * *

Inner city Gotham was bleak and dangerous. Roy had only been on a mission here once before since Batman rarely let heroes, meta or otherwise, into Gotham so the atmosphere put him on edge. In contrast, Damian seemed lighter than he'd been in days. As the small boy slid gracefully out of the Batmobile there was a smile on his face and when he moved there was a bounce to his step. In contrast to the archers' hands, tense on their bows, he was a little kid at a playground.

The warehouse wasn't far but it was also in chaos. People were rushing everywhere tossing boxes into trucks and yelling. An elephant probably could have marched right up to the front door and it would have taken them a while to notice. Damian's eyes narrowed as he studied the chaos. Then he closed them, probably searching for Dick with his mind. A moment later they snapped open wide. "Back side of the warehouse," he hissed urgently.

Batman and Robin exchanged a look. Roy wasn't precisely sure what was being communicated but a moment later Damian grabbed both Artemis and Roy, pulling them back into an adjacent alley. They crept to the end, Robin taking the lead, and waited. Moments later startled yells and the sound of gunfire drew the attention of the few men in the back. That was when they struck. They did their best to take down men as silently as possible but, inevitably, one noticed and started yelling. At the same time, the truck that had been parked there, truck bed covered in a protective canvas dome, rumbled to life.

Damian's eyes widened at the sound and he dropped the unconscious man he'd been carefully lowering to the ground. By the time the man's head struck the chilly pavement Damian was already sprinting after the truck which was gradually picking up speed. Artemis and Roy exchanged wide eyed looks as the Boy Wonder literally jumped through a small gap in the canvas and vanished into the darkened interior. A moment later, as the truck turned around the corner, a man in uniform came flying out of the back with a startled scream.


	23. Part III, Chapter XXIII

Damian sent the man flying out of the back of the moving vehicle in two smooth moves, eyes fixed on something standing up towards the back. He scrambled unsteadily across the floor, reaching out with his mind. _Dick?_

_Damian, no! It's a trap!_ The startled cry came too late. Psimon overwhelmed them both in seconds and Damian's barely breathing frame crashed to the floor of the truck. In the driver's seat, the hired muscled peered nervously at the cloaked man next to him. Psimon was smiling. The telepath had been startled when the clone had literally thrown him out of the link with the original but he had realized, after some reflection, that the blow which had tossed him away had simply been a panic reaction. The clone didn't know or understand how to control his psychic powers. Psimon had hurt both boys and the clone had reacted accordingly. Armed with that knowledge, Psimon had been able to take the two boys out quickly. The truck rumbled forward towards the airport. They had an appointment in Geneva.

* * *

Robin was only gone for a minute before Roy realized something had gone terribly, terribly wrong. He had expected the smaller boy to come back around the corner at any second but there was no sign of Robin. Meanwhile the few thugs left were scattering and another truck was rumbling past them. That left the older boy with two choices. Either he could hang around until Ollie and Batman showed up or he could jump in the back of the truck that was a few feet down the street. The choice was so easy it was practically nonexistent. "Sorry Arty," he yelled and sprinted after the truck.

"What are you- _Red Arrow get your butt back here!_ " Artemis bellowed after him but it was too late. Roy had already jumped into the back of the truck as it sped around the corner, leaving an angry Artemis to deal with the remaining men. None of them looked exactly eager to deal with the red faced and fuming female.

Roy landed hard on the corner of a box and barely bit down a yelp of pain, his lips pulling into a snarl. He slid to the floor, keeping his breathing low in the hope that neither of the man shaped shadows he'd caught a glimpse of in the cab of the truck had heard his ungraceful entrance. Robin always made this crap look so simple. "Did'ja hear that?" a slightly slurred voice demanded and Roy tensed.

"What?" a clearer voice demanded, sounding exasperated.

"There was a thumping noise," the slurred voice returned. "Kinda like somebody'd jumped in the back."

"You're drunk Danny," the clear voice snapped, exasperated.

"But Alan..." Danny began to whine.

" _No_ ," came the dark reply. Despite the dangerous situation, it took all of Roy's self control to keep from laughing.

* * *

_Pain. That was all Dick could manage to get from Damian. It worried the mostly unconscious boy more than he would have bothered to admit_. "Damian," _he called softly._ "Damian please wake up." _He couldn't sense the boy so much as stir. Dick couldn't risk reaching out any further. Psimon could still be watching and the last thing Dick needed to be right now was catatonic. Whatever was coming would require their full concentration.  
_

_The truck grumbled to a stop and Dick strained his ears, trying to hear what was going on. "Unload the passengers," Psimon's voice instructed. "And make sure the clone is tied up tightly. We wouldn't want him to get loose during the flight, would we?"_

_"No sir," came the nervous response. Dick wanted to scream. If he'd been out of this stupid tube, he'd be able to fight his way free, dragging Damian with him. Instead he was trapped while the Light dragged them off to god knew where. No one would probably ever find them again and they'd die in some lonely wasteland if Savage didn't have Psimon brainwash Damian again so they could start all over._

"Damian!" _he screamed and was startled by bleary acknowledgement._ "Damian you have to get up!"

"Wha' happened?" _was the boy's slurred reply and Dick desperately wanted to scream._

"There isn't time! You have to get out of here!"

"Not without you." _Even mostly unconscious, Damian was still a hero at heart. Normally Dick would have been proud of that fact, proud that the boy who he'd come to think of as a brother during the few days they'd been around one another all those years ago had become everything Dick had hoped to be, but not today. Today that hero complex was going to get Damian killed._

"You have to leave me!"

"No. I'm never leaving you again." _Dick wanted to protest but it was already too late. He could hear the footsteps approach the back of the truck. Their time, and luck, had just run out._

* * *

Roy had almost fallen asleep during the long drive. After the events of the last couple days he was exhausted, struggling to remain alert. In retrospect, jumping on the back of the truck hadn't been the smartest move but Roy refused to lose the boy he thought of as a younger brother again. Still he was soon cursing his own exhaustion as the man coming to the back of the truck to unload boxes startled him. The man let out a yell before Roy could knock him out and the thundering of approaching footsteps told him trouble was coming.

The first few men were far too easy to take down. Oliver had made sure that his protege knew how to handle himself in a fight and the hired muscle had underestimated the archer. Then the smarter ones showed up. Soon enough Roy was struggling as he ducked and weaved through the crowd. He was having trouble landing any solid hits on the professionals that twisted around him. Blood slid down his left arm in a thin stream and arrows were scattered across the ground from when one of the men had sliced open his quiver with a knife. Roy smacked out hard with his bow, the wood shattering on a man's skull and sending the man toppling to the ground. Roy was forced to launch himself over the downed man to dodge another strike. That ended up being his undoing.

There was a man behind him. Honestly Roy wasn't really surprised about that. The real surprise was the man that he'd shattered his bow on rising up and punching him squarely on his face. Roy stumbled, seeing stars, and a second blow slammed into his stomach. The sickening knowledge that he was going to lose washed over him. Another blow slammed into his stomach before he could manage to protect it and as he tumbled to to his knees, trying to force some air into his aching lungs, one of the men grabbed his head and slammed it hard into the unyielding concrete below.


	24. Part III, Chapter XXIV

Bruce Wayne was almost completely overwhelmed with guilt. It had happened again. Once more he had let his sons be taken from him and, worse yet, Roy Harper had been taken with them. Well, that part was a bit of an exaggeration. According to an angry and very worried Artemis Crock, Roy had gone after Robin when the boy had failed to return from his attempted rescue of Dick. The most crushing part of this news was the fact that if Oliver and Bruce had been just a little faster, or had even heeded the worry that had quietly plagued them both during the fight with the men around the front of the building, they could have saved their children.

Artemis was pacing back and forth in the Batcave, her hands clenched tight around her bow. She looked as if she wanted to do something instead of just sitting around waiting for news. Oliver was pale as he settled against one of the cave walls, eyes fixed blankly on a point somewhere in the distance. Bruce was working. The massive computer he used for missions and contacting the Justice League was searching for the two trucks, trying to figure out exactly where Ra's al'Ghul's men were headed. It was the only thing he could do.

Every minute passing was agonizing. Bruce knew that if too much time passed they would never find Roy, Robin, and Dick. He scanned the cameras and then froze, eyes falling on airport security. A quick tap of several buttons brought that camera to the forefront. If Batman could smile, he would have been grinning from ear to ear. As it was, the small smirk on his face would have sent the villains of Gotham running for cover.

* * *

"Roy? _Roy!_ " Roy Harper groaned and forced his eyes open. His head throbbed and every breath he pulled in hurt. It took a moment for what he was seeing to even make sense. "Oh god," Damian's voice whimpered from next to him. "We're screwed." Roy tilted his aching head to one side and found himself looking at the younger boy. Actually he was looking at two versions of Damian weaving in and out.

"I think I have a concussion," he slurred. If possible, Damian looked even more worried by his statement.

"We're dead," the boy mumbled almost feverishly. "We are so, so dead. They're going to slit our throats and nobody is going to find the bodies."

"You bettin' 'gainst Batman now?" Roy mumbled, eyes drifting closed. Seeing everything double was making him feel dizzy and sick, or maybe that was just the concussion talking.

"No," Damian murmured after a moment, sounding marginally more calm.

"We'll be okay," Roy reassured the younger boy as best he could. It was hard when he wasn't thinking clearly but Roy knew he was supposed to be the older brother. It was his job to protect Damian as best he could, even if he'd done a cruddy job of it so far.

"Yeah," he heard Damian mumble, not sounding convinced. "We're going to be just fine."

* * *

_Damian was fully conscious but that, in Dick's opinion, was the only good thing about this situation. They were trapped in an airplane that was only moments away from taking off to fly somewhere far away and they were being accompanied by Psimon and a concussed Roy Harper. Maybe Batman would be able to track them down but he'd be far too late to stop the plane from taking off._ "They're going to take us and no one can stop them," _Dick told Damian in a dismal tone._

"I know," _Damian replied grimly._ "Our only chance of escape is going to be right before the plane lands."

"You're going to have to go without me." _Dick waited for Damian to protest but it never came._

"I don't want to leave you," _the other boy said at last._ "But it's going to be hard enough to escape with a concussed Roy." _There was a pause and then Damian added,_ "Deathstroke did teach me a few useful things." _The rumble of the plane's engine coming to life silenced them both. There was a lurching motion as the plane began to move, picking up speed and then rising upwards. Roy and Damian slid sideways into Dick's secured tube._ "I don't want to deal with this," _Damian whimpered, fear suddenly clouding the link between them._

"You'll be fine," _Dick tried but he sensed that the other boy was already shaking his head._

"No I won't, " _Damian wailed back._ "I can't do this. I can't, I can't, I can't!"

"Yes. You can," _Dick replied easily._ "Because you've done harder things. You saved the Justice League when you were meant to destroy them, you turned your back on Deathstroke when it would have been far easier to bend to his will again, you got over your fear of seeing Batman again, and you found me. You can do the impossible Damian. You already have." _Some of the fear faded as Damian considered Dick's statements._

"Oh-okay," _the boy said at last._ "I can do this." _The determination in his voice made Dick smile, even as they_ _soared further and further away from safety._

* * *

"We were too late," Oliver's voice said over the comm link. "The plane's already gone."

"Can't anything go right today?" Artemis added, frustrated and scared.

"It doesn't matter," Bruce replied, already bringing up a the flight itineraries from the Gotham Airport. "Does Roy have a tracker on him?"

"I don't know," Oliver admitted after a moment of thought. "He did when he was Speedy but he could have removed it from the costume."

"Could you bring it up on the Cave's computer?"

"If it's still there, yeah," was Oliver's answer. "But I'm not a miracle worker Batman. I can't pull it up if it doesn't exist."

Bruce considered the situation for a moment, weighing all the options. "Artemis, see if you can discover anything about the plane that just left," he ordered at last. "Oliver, head back here and see if you can activate the tracker. I'm going to be out."

"Doing what?" Oliver and Artemis demanded in synch.

"I'm going to speak to Talia."

* * *

The plane descended, only running into a couple patches of turbulence before landing smoothly. Damian had spent the flight slowly working his wrists free. Dick assisted by keeping the boy calm and Roy was, hopefully, sleeping off the worst effects of his concussion. It would make it even more difficult to escape than it was already going to be if Roy was still seeing double. The men on the other side of the plane, all four of them, were chatting amicably and probably going out of their minds with boredom. Next to them were about six parachutes. If Damian could take out the guards, and he knew from Deathstroke's teaching that he was capable, and managed to get both himself and Roy parachutes, then managed to get out, they could escape. And land in what was probably no man's land without any supplies.

_This is a terrible plan,_ he informed Dick crossly, working the feeling back into his fingers.

_I know,_ Dick replied. _But it's the only plan we've got._

"Oh boys," Psimon said, appearing suddenly in the doorway that separated the cargo hold of the plane from the cabin. "You really should have learned your lesson about communicating telepathically."


	25. Part III, Chapter XXV

The last time Damian had been in Geneva, it had been to save Haley's Circus. He'd taken the Young Justice team, minus Kaldur and plus Roy, on a mission, that he'd claimed had come from Batman, and it had ended here. He found it ironic that his life was going to end here as well. When the plane had landed Roy had roused and two of the guards had been ordered to release Dick from the containment tube while the other four flanked Roy and Damian. The boy had considered taking out the guards but with Psimon's cold eyes fixed on him, Damian didn't dare move.

Dick stumbled out of the tube to his knees, gasping in fresh air. The guards stood uncertainly on either side of the boy, who Damian was pleased to see had the exact same height and build as himself, until Dick pulled himself slowly to his feet. "What do you want with us?" the original Robin demanded of Psimon. The telepath smirked.

"With the archer's brat? Nothing. Unfortunately he cannot be allowed to walk away knowing what he knows," Psimon said. Dick's eyes widened with worry but Damian allowed himself to sink deep into cold anger.

"If you harm Red Arrow," he snarled. "I will personally rip you to pieces." The telepath assessed the boy for a moment, considering the threat.

"Fine," Psimon replied at last. "If you behave, I will wipe the memories of what happened after Red Arrow was beaten into unconsciousness by my men. Deal?"

Dick and Damian exchanged looks, communicating without words or telepathy, before saying, "Deal."

* * *

Talia al'Ghul was not the easiest person to find. Luckily Bruce had experience doing the impossible, or at least Batman did. After two hours of careful searching he found her in a surprisingly clean coffee shop tucked down a grimy alley in the Narrows. He waited on the rooftop opposite the shop, watching the woman sip at her steaming cup of tea. She seemed completely unaware of what was going on around her but Bruce knew better. Talia was deadly, worthy of being the Heir to the Demon. It made her a worthy partner in battle and a dangerous foe.

After twenty minutes she left the empty cup and a couple of extremely flat bills on the clean white tablecloth, making her way out the door. She stopped in the middle of the street and looked directly up at him, arching a single dark eyebrow. "It is dangerous to be here." Bruce dropped from the rooftop, using a fire escape to slow his descent before landing softly next to her.

"We need to talk."

"What about?"

"Where your father has taken my sons." Talia's eyes were emotionless but her shoulders were stiff. Something about the situation seemed to be making her uncomfortable. Bruce couldn't find it in himself to care. She had proved to be a useful source of information before and she had told him earlier how to find Dick. Now she was one of his options to find both his boys.

"Come with me. We cannot speak here," Talia told him, reaching over to take his arm. Batman shot a grapple and propelled them both into the air. Wind whipped Talia's brown hair around her face. Her green eyes, for just a moment, melted into something that was almost pure delight. They stood together on the rooftop, the shadows of taller buildings shielding them from prying eyes. "My father is just one part of a larger machine," Talia told him in a hushed voice. "And the Light has plans to rectify their defeat, plans that involve your children, but I do not know where these plans are going to come to fruition or when."

Bruce ground his teeth together with frustration. Talia's hand pressed lightly against his arm and he turned to look into her seemingly endless green eyes. "Are you sure you don't know anything more?" he questioned, voice gruff. He had to fight not to brush her away from him.

"If I think of anything," Talia told him. "Then I will contact you."

"No," Bruce replied sharply. "Speak to Commissioner Gordon. He will pass on the message to me."

"Very well," was Talia's calm reply but Batman was already gone.

* * *

There was a bite to the wind as Dick, Damian, and Roy were led towards the domed observatory. Dick seriously doubted the place was an observatory anymore. The boy had seen this place from Damian's memories. Apparently during a mission to rescue Haley's Circus from being framed for a crime none of the members committed, the boy had ended up here. The plan had been to transform the observatory into a weapon. Dick wasn't sure what the current plan for this place was but he doubted it was anything good.

To the surprise of his captives, Psimon parted from them at the door. The three were shoved into the dim interior of the building. They stumbled and bounced gracelessly off one another for a moment before standing there, fighting the urge to huddle together like baby ducklings. "Welcome my children, to the grand finale."

* * *

Bruce stormed into the Batcave, cloak snapping behind him like an angry dog. "Tell me you have something," he demanded of Artemis and Oliver.

"Maybe," Oliver replied.

"I'll go first," Artemis quickly jumped in when Batman snarled at them. "No one at the airport knew where the plane was going but they did know that it is owned by Lex Luthor."

"I can do one better," Oliver added. "Roy still has one of the trackers in his suit. Unfortunately I'm having a little trouble accessing it. I think he'd tried to deactivate it and managed fairly well."

"What about the trackers in the Robin suit?" Artemis asked

"They were damaged during the time we were mind controlled by the Light's biotech," Batman replied, shoving the rolling chair Oliver was seated in out of the way and typing rapidly. If he could just get a brief lock on Roy's tracker they would have some kind of lead.

"Did Talia have any news?" Oliver questioned.

"Only that they're planning something big," Bruce growled. It was a fight not to punch the computer in frustration. That was when a huge map suddenly dominated the screen. All three heroes froze but while Artemis and Oliver stared at the computer in confusion, unsure why a blinking red dot had suddenly appeared in Geneva, Batman's eyes held something else. Hope.


	26. Part III, Chapter XXVI

Damian kept his arms tucked behind his back as his eyes adjusted to the darkness. One of his fingers on his right hand slipped inside the glove on his left, feeling for something he hoped was still there. Savage had thought all the trackers had been busted on the Robin suit but the one in his glove was for emergencies only. If Damian could activate it, and that was assuming it was undamaged, help might be able to arrive. He felt something click and relaxed his arms slightly, hoping no one had noticed.

Now that his eyes had adjusted to the shadows he could make out the figure of Lex Luthor. Beside the Metropolis businessman was Vandal Savage. The very sight of the villain sent a wave of unease down Damian's spine. Sensing the emotion, Dick pressed closer. It was surprisingly reassuring. It was Lex who had spoken but the man did not seem bothered by the fact that the children, gathered together like ducklings, had ignored his statement. Instead he beamed as their eyes turned towards the raised metal platform in the center of the chamber.

The only light in the domed room came from the glowing blue panel on the center of the platform. It appeared to be innocent enough but, judging by the pure scientific joy gleaming in Luthor's eyes, it was dangerous. A cackle had all three young heroes flinching, Roy trying to shift protectively in front of the younger two. The guards stopped him. At the same time, Klarion stepped through a swirling portal. "Everything is ready on my end," the embodiment of Chaos cackled. There was pure delight in his gaze as it turned towards Damian. "Provided Luthor's technology actually works."

"It will work," the businessman insisted.

"It had better." Savage's cold comment settled the brewing argument before it could even start. "We shall return to your dimension. Luthor, I shall leave you to explain the mechanics of this device to our young friends." Together Klarion and Savage stepped through the still swirling portal, leaving nothing but nervous silence and Luthor's smug smile behind.

* * *

Bruce was not certain how Robin's emergency beacon was still intact to be activated but he was not about to question his good fortune. Instead he was rushing towards the Batplane, Oliver and a stunned Artemis right on his heels. "The light is one of Robin's emergency beacons," he explained as they boarded. "I thought all of them had been destroyed but it seems I was wrong."

"So they're in Geneva?" Artemis asked, her voice both hopeful and worried.

"They're in Geneva."

* * *

"What you see before you is a mastery of science and magic," Luthor said, seeming pleased to have a captive audience. "It was designed by the Light on the off chance that something would go wrong with our initial plan. What it is meant to do is really quite simple. The original Robin, Richard Grayson, will placed in the center of the platform here. Once I turn it on and Klarion applies his magic from the other end of the portal, Richard Grayson will be erased from history as if he never existed. With him gone, the clone will also disappear, along with all you sidekicks. We'll be free to advance our plans as we see fit."

Damian felt a sick feeling strike him hard. The League's saving grace had been their partners. Without there ever having been a Robin, there would be no reason for any of the other heroes to think about having partners to help them. So many of those same heroes could end up dead or seriously injured and when the Light struck, there would be no one to stop them. The plan was terrifying in its simplicity and Damian was not entirely certain how to stop it. "I'm going to stick around for the show, of course," Luthor continued, looking extremely satisfied as he stepped up to a panel of buttons. He tapped a code and the raised platform began to hum. The blue glow was beginning to grow brighter and a wave of heat was emanating from the platform. That was when a heavy thunk from the ceiling had them all looking up.

Hope began to well in Damian's chest. Maybe the beacon still worked and rescue had arrived. "Check that," Luthor snapped and two of the guards obediently left, quite possibly to get knocked out and tied up. The machine was humming louder now and the column of light was swirling up towards the center of the domed ceiling was blocking them partially from Luthor's sight. The three exchanged meaningful glances before turning towards the four remaining guards. Then they moved.

Roy took down the two on his side with swift, effective movements born of long hours of training with Oliver. Meanwhile Dick and Damian, using their bond and shared memories, took down the other two, their movements in synch. Luthor heard the thumps and made the mistake of scrambling around the platform towards the three suddenly free heroes. Dick lunged forward, tackling one of the men who was responsible for keeping him prisoner for years to the ground. Luthor let out a startled yell but Damian had already lunged forward to snap his foot against the businessman's temple, knocking him unconscious.

In the sudden silence of the building, an ominous groaning sound from the ceiling made them shift nervously. "Can one of you shut this down?" Roy asked the younger boys. Dick and Damian scrambled for the control panel, only to stare with wide eyes at the machinery before them.

"This is all gibberish," Dick complained and Damian felt himself trembling as he watched numbers on one small screen steadily increase.

"Is this-?" he managed to get out.

"I think so," Dick confirmed.

" _What_?" Roy demanded nervously. Damian shook his head, throat feeling as if it were sealing itself.

"They've ripped a hole in the very fabric of time," Dick explained, nudging the clone lightly with his shoulder. "If we can't manage to close it then it will continually expand until the point where it rips the entire world apart."

"Can you shut it down?" the archer pressed, turning a nervous gaze towards the stream of deep blue light.

Dick and Damian exchanged glances before reluctantly answering. "No."

"We're all going to die," Roy moaned, pressing his head into his hands before taking a steadying breath. "How long do we have to stop this?" Dick and Damian twisted around each other to tap buttons until a timer appeared on one of the screens.

"We've got two minutes before it's completely out of control," Damian said finally, voice wavering a little. He had the beginning of an idea but he didn't like it.

"And we have no idea how to shut it down, right?"

"Right," Dick confirmed.

"Wrong," Damian whispered, flinching a little when they both turned towards him. "I think the machine is designed to shut down after it's erased someone's timeline."

"Well that's great," Roy snapped. "All we have to do is have someone volunteer to be destroyed. My vote is for Luthor."

"No," Damian denied, stepping away from the control panel. "We're not sacrificing Luthor. We could change to course of history. For all we know, if Luthor doesn't exist we might lose Superman. There's only one person here who we can erase without any possible bad effects."

" _No,"_ Dick hissed, whirling on him. "You can't."

"Sorry," Damian apologized and then launched himself across the control panel and into the beam of blue light.


	27. Part III, Chapter XXVII

Bruce all but flew into the observatory, Oliver and Artemis right behind him. The ceiling was rattle violently, a beam of blue light rising up towards it. They arrived just in time to see Robin leap headlong into the beam of light. Dick let out an anguished scream, pounding his hand hard against what appeared to be some kind of control panel. " _No!_ " the boy wailed. "No, no, _no!_ " The light glowed brighter and Bruce flung up a hand to shield his eyes and stumbled his way around the wide beam towards Dick. His first son was trembling violently as he leaned against Batman, tears pouring down his cheeks. "We couldn't stop it," Dick whimpered softly. "So the only way was for someone to go in it."

"It will be okay," Bruce murmured, eyes already turning towards the control panel.

"No," Dick protested. "It isn't ever going to be okay again."

"Arrow," Bruce snapped. "Call the League. Red Arrow, get Dick and Artemis out of here."

" _What?"_ Dick yelped. "No, _no._ I can't lose you too." Dick was clinging tightly to Batman's cape, terrified eyes fixed on his mentor. Bruce felt terrible about doing this, Dick had lost so much already and the possibility that he would lose more today was heartbreaking, but the man needed to focus. If he had enough time, and wasn't worrying about Dick being killed by something falling from the ceiling, there was a possibility that he could prevent the beam from erasing Robin entirely from existence.

"I'm sorry Dick," he told the boy and nodded at Oliver's first protege. Roy's dark eyes insisted that Batman had better know what he was doing before the boy picked up a furious and frightened Robin, carrying him out of the building.

"I have the League," Oliver announced, joining Bruce at the control panel.

"What member?"

"J'onn but Diana and Clark are on the way here as we speak." Oliver paused for a moment as Bruce snatched the communicator from him. "What's going on here?"

"The Light have ripped a hole in the universe," Bruce replied gruffly. "And now I have to figure out how to close it." That venue of conversation now closed, Bruce activated the communicator. "J'onn how much do you know about time machines?"

* * *

Dick trembled in the chilly Geneva air as the beam of blue light ripped through the ceiling of the conservatory and rose towards the pale blue sky. It disrupted the few fluffy white clouds lingering there and made the whole sky ripple. At the same time, his bond with Damian began screaming. Dick let out a pained cry and toppled to his knees on the ground. Artemis dropped down next to him, wrapped her arms around his shoulders and began talking to him but he couldn't understand what she was saying. Instead he was _twelve being beaten on the ground by Two Face and silently praying that Batman would come before he died_.

"Dick, _please_ ," Artemis was pleading with him when he flashed back in but the bond was pouring over him in a wave. _He was just dropping out of the tube to the ground, trying to pull air into oxygen starved lungs._

"I can't, _I can't_ ," he gasped out between sobs. Then he was screaming. Through the bond it felt as if Damian's bones and skin were melting and cracking. Above them the beam of light blazed green. Then the light vanished with a low whump. At the same time Dick crashed to the ground, unconscious.

* * *

Oliver blinked open his eyes to the sound of a baby's wails. He stood slowly from where he'd fallen during the time that the beam was still active and knocking things down from the ceiling. What was left of the observatory was dark but the gaping hole in the ceiling allowed sunlight to drift in. A few feet away Bruce was picking his way through the rubble towards the sound of the sobbing. Oliver followed the other man, curious.

Lying in the center of the platform was a baby. It was all but drowning in the fabric of the Robin uniform, toothless mouth opened wide as it sobbed and whined. Bruce gently scooped it up, being sure to support the head and the child's sobs slowly quieted. "Is that Damian?" Oliver asked, staring at the tiny infant.

"Who?" Bruce asked and the archer realized that the other man didn't know what name the clone had chosen.

"Robin," Oliver corrected and Bruce nodded.

"Yes," he replied. "It is."

"How?"

"J'onn and I managed to reprogram the beam," Bruce answered, ignoring the footsteps that approached them. "Damian has been reverted to an infant form and his memories will be locked away for safe keeping. We'll be able to keep him away from the Light."

"Batman? Green Arrow?" Diana's call caught their attention and they turned to see the Amazon princess standing a few feet away. "Is everything okay?"

"Yes," Bruce replied, the barest hint of a grin on his face. "Everything is going to be just fine."

* * *

It felt strange stepping into Wayne Manor for the first time in years. Everything was just as he, and Damian, remembered it. Over the years spent tucked away inside a tube, Wayne Manor had taken on an almost fairy tale quality, like the outside world had been to Rapunzel locked away in her tower. Dick hadn't thought he would ever make it back here. "Welcome back Master Dick." Dick startled a little and spun around only to grin at Alfred. The man looked little different from when Dick had first moved into the manor, traumatized and grieving for everything he had lost. Dick lunged forward and hugged the man, unsurprised when Alfred wrapped his arms gently around him for a moment, patting his shoulder lightly. "Where is..." Alfred trailed off uncertainly but Dick understood what he was saying.

"Safe," the boy replied, smiling up at Alfred. "Bruce will explain the rest when he gets home."

"I shall expect him to," Alfred replied and Dick grinned, snickering a little. Sudden footsteps upstairs caught his attention and he turned to see a boy with auburn hair standing at the top of the staircase.

"Hi," Dick called, waving cheerfully, and the boy studied him warily before glancing at Alfred. The old butler patted Dick on the shoulder once and then left the room. The younger boy approached cautiously, as if suspecting Dick were a trap.

"Who are you?" came the sharp demand.

"I'm Bruce Wayne's ward," Dick replied, making sure to keep his body relaxed so he wouldn't scare off the boy. "I've just been gone for a while. Who're you?"

The boy hesitated a moment, studying Dick carefully. "Jason," He said at last. "My name's Jason."

"Nice to meet you Jason," Dick responded with a wide grin, offering his hand to the boy. "I'm Dick."

* * *

After her last conversation with Bruce, Talia al'Ghul had made herself difficult to find. Her father had warned her away from the Bat, telling her that if she was caught giving information to him again she would be killed. In response, she fled high into the mountains, leaving a clue behind that only one man would be able to follow. Now she sat before a flickering fire in a monastery, listening to the wind howl around her. She was not startled when the door groaned open, letting cold wind howl inside for a moment. Instead she stood and turned calmly to face her fate, hand on the knife tucked away in her skirts.

Bruce Wayne stood in the doorway, bundled up against the cold. Cradled close to his chest, in one arm, was a bundle of tightly wrapped blankets. Talia relaxed her grip on the knife and studied him with keen green eyes as he forced the door closed against the wind. "Bruce," she said at last.

"Talia." Their usual greetings exchanged, Bruce stepped forward, cautiously. "I need your help."

"Helping you has caused me nothing but trouble."

"I do not doubt that." Something shining deep in Bruce's blue eyes caught her attention and held it. "But this is different. This could help redeem you in your father's eyes."

"And what is in it for you?" Talia had grown up in a world where nothing was given up for free. Bruce was different, she knew that, but despite the affection she felt for him she had yet to be able to understand his way of thinking.

"Come see," was the simple response. Talia stepped forward and then froze when he unwound a couple of blankets from the cocoon in his arms. Inside was a small baby with wispy strands of dark hair and a ruddy skin tone. The infant was sleeping peacefully, not bothered by the storm howling on outside. "This is the clone the Light created through Cadmus."

"How did he end up so small?"

"The Light had a contingency plan that would have erased Richard Grayson from existence," Bruce explained. "The clone jumped into the beam instead. I managed to rewrite the programming of the machine and shut it down but the clone is now an infant."

"And his memories?"

"They have been repressed. He will not remember anything until the block begins to naturally crumble over time."

Talia studied the man she might almost love for a moment and then asked, "What do you need from me?"

"I need you to raise him and protect him as best you can," Bruce told her. "If you tell your father he is our son, that this is why you were around me often in recent months, it will put both you and the child above the Light's suspicion."

"If at any time it becomes dangerous for him to be in my care, I will return him to you," Talia responded. Bruce nodded once at her. The woman reached out her arms and Bruce handed the infant over. It whimpered a little at the movement, blinking open wide green eyes. Talia stared at those eyes, uncomprehending.

"The beam did something," Bruce explained. "Changed his eye color. None of us know how." Talia could only stare. With those green eyes and the ruddy skin, anyone would believe that the baby was hers. That the only thing the infant got from Bruce was that dark hair. A slow smile crossed her face at the idea that the plan might actually work.

"Does he have a name?" she asked Bruce curiously.

"Damian."

**End of Part Three**

_The story will be continued in "Duplicity"_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A couple fun facts for you;
> 
> 1\. Jason was only supposed to have a short cameo where he steals the tires off of the Batmobile. Being the sneaky kid that he is, he slipped into several more chapters.
> 
> 2\. Talia was initially planned only to show up where she tells Bruce where Dick is and in the final part of the final chapter but she became more involved in the story as it grew.
> 
> And finally 3. This story was initially supposed to have a much different ending where Damian became Nightwing and went to Bludhaven and Dick took on a different name and became Robin again but part way through the first part this ending just showed up and refused to leave.
> 
> Thank you all for reading!


End file.
